Harmony and Chaos

Chapters

Declaration
The Inner Circle
Reunion
The Big One
The Thunderbolts

Declaration

Rain fell in heavy sheets at the Equestria Military Graveyard, where all the Wonderbolts and Royal Guard members who had died in battle were laid to rest. Surrounding the sleek black coffin were the friends and family of Wonderbolt Captain Spitfire. At last, the ultimate war of Light and Darkness was over after two long years, the good ponies of Equestria could lay their fallen heroes to their well-deserved rest.

Among those mourning the loss of Spitfire was Captain Rainbow Dash of the Thunderbolts, who was wearing her new captain’s dress uniform and an eyepatch over her right eye, which she lost the use of in the final battle.

With Captain Rainbow was her special somepony and true love, Lieutenant Soarin Skylar, also sporting a dress uniform, who had his hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder.

As Spitfire’s coffin is lowered into the ground, we hear Rainbow’s voice, which had turned gravelly and stern over two years of fighting a war.

A famous pony once said, “We create our own demons.” Who said it? What does it mean? I have no idea, I’m just saying it ‘cause he said it. So, basically, it’s getting said by a war hero, which would be me, and somepony else… aw, damn it, I’m getting mixed up…

Why don’t we track this from the beginning?

Two years earlier, we find Rainbow Dash on a stage with her team, both eyes undamaged and decked out in a Wonderbolt’s Sergeant dress uniform, at a party known as “The Induction Ball,” where Wonderbolt cadets become official Wonderbolts. Captain Spitfire took the stage.

“Tonight… we gather here, in Canterlot’s ballroom, to welcome Sergeant Rainbow Amelia Dash and her team, into the folds of the Wonderbolts. To be honest, I see great things coming from Sergeant Dash. It was she who taught me that being the best shouldn’t come at other ponies’ expense, and that it meant pushing yourself in the right direction, rather than out-performing your peers. With that, I say to the new 95th Regiment of the Wonderbolts, welcome to the family,” said Spitfire.

“Attention!” cried Rainbow, who snapped a salute along with her team.

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Later that evening, Sergeant Dash shook hooves and talked with several very important ponies. Soarin, who looked very nervous, walked up to Rainbow.

“H-hey, Rainbow? Uh, may I have this dance?” he asked.

Rainbow smiled. Truth was, she always had a bit of a crush on Soarin. And, as of lately judging by the fact that he couldn’t form a decent sentence around her, he felt the same way.

“Yes. Yes, you may,” said Rainbow.

As the party went on through the night, Soarin and Rainbow danced and talked. As they did, they found that they liked being close to each other. Finally, when the party ended, Soarin offered to walk Rainbow to her new home not far from Canterlot.

When Soarin and Rainbow arrived at Rainbow’s place, Soarin looked as though he was dying to ask Rainbow something.

“Uh, Rainbow… I was wondering… if you’re not busy next wednesday at 8:00… would you, maybe… like to go on a date with me?” asked Soarin.

Rainbow smiled. “Sure… where were you thinking?” she asked.

Soarin poked the ground with his hoof. “Maybe the Hayloft?” he said.

“Sounds good. See you then, if not sooner,” said Rainbow as she went into her house.

Soarin jumped into the air. “YES!” he said.

Rainbow Dash pulled out a little wooden box that was on a shelf and opened it. Inside was a golden necklace with a ruby pendant shaped like a lightning bolt. It was her old Element of Harmony, Loyalty. As Rainbow put on the necklace and looked in the mirror, we once again hear her future self’s voice.

I know what you’re thinking. “Where’s Princess Twilight, and Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, and the others?” Well, it turns out that friendship, just like any other magic, can wither and die. Truth was, me and the girls kinda drifted apart. I hadn’t spoken to any of them for almost two years. Why should I? I had everything going for me, my dream fully realized, a date with a good stallion… problem with life is, everything that can knock your world onto its ass, probably will…

Around the same time, a supply ship fleet was on its way to the Wonderbolt Academy. Suddenly, out of the night came six purple and black blurs came up beside the fleet, encircling it. They were all pegasi and wore what seemed to be purple and black versions of Wonderbolt uniforms.

“Blueball! Did you bring the camera?” barked a pegasus mare with a ghostly white mane and tail.

Blueball Blitz, a stallion with a light purple mane and tail, nodded and held up a video camera.

“Good… all right, fillies and gentlecolts, let’s get this over with. I want to hit the airwaves tonight,” said the mare.

As Blueball turned on the camera, the other five Shadowbolts charged up black energy balls, which they hurled at the fleet. The next two hours were ones of chaos and horror. The Shadowbolts, with Blueball filming while wearing a psychotic grin and throwing his own energy ball every once in a while, laid complete and total waste to the fleet, and claimed their cargo…

The next morning, Rainbow Dash was awoken by a phone call from Captain Spitfire.

“Rainbow, turn on the TV. Now,” was all that Spitfire said at first.

Not sure what was going on, Rainbow turned on her TV. The only thing on it was a stylized serpent skeleton over what looked like…

Rainbow’s jaw dropped. Somepony had hacked the TV satellites and were showing video of themselves destroying a supply fleet.

As if on cue, a pegasus mare with a white mane and tail wearing an outfit Rainbow recognized as something she wore on Nightmare Night a few years back appeared, sitting on a stylized throne.

“Hello, Equestria. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Captain Blackthorn of the Shadowbolts,” said Blackthorn in an almost businesspony-like air. “Now, to business. The footage you just saw was of myself and five of my closest and most loyal family members laying waste to a supply fleet heading for the Wonderbolt Academy. I can personally assure you of two things: one, we have the cargo, and two, there are no survivors. Now, just to give you an idea of what exactly you’re dealing with, if six pegasi could destroy an entire fleet, then imagine what this many can do.”

The camera turned to reveal absolutely no one standing there. Rainbow Dash and Captain Spitfire couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Grr! Blueball, you idiot! Turn the camera the other way!” yelled Blackthorn.

“Sorry, boss,” came a stallion’s voice with a Manehattan accent.

As the camera turned in the proper direction, Rainbow and Spitfire stopped laughing. There were hundreds, if not thousands of pegasi dressed as Shadowbolts.

“So, you see, Equestria. You may know who we are now. But, you don’t know where we are… and you’ll never see us coming. Man your battlestations, troops! The war has begun... Stratus, give the good ponies their TVs back,” said Blackthorn.

With that, the transmission ended, leaving breaking news broadcasts in its wake.

The Inner Circle

Inside a dimly lit conference room on the Shadowbolt flag ship, The Wicked Wench, the six members of the Shadowbolt leadership sat watching Shining Armor’s press conference. Among them was a pegasus mare with a magenta mane and tail named Starry Skies. She had a virtually inexhaustible bank account, which of course was useful for providing funding. Unfortunately, it couldn’t get her a spot on the Wonderbolts.

Another member, a pegasus stallion with an aqua mane and tail named Stratus, was a former member of the Royal Guard, but had been kicked out when he threw restraint and safety to to the wind more often than not.

The third member, a stallion with a poisonous green mane and tail named Charger, was the group’s weapons specialist, since he had a deadly talent for creating lethal Poison Joke-based toxins.

Then, of course, there was Blueball Blitz. He had once been a weatherpony in one of Cloudsdale’s weather factories before a freak accident drove him bonkers. However, it also seemed to make him faster, as his speed in flight rivaled that of his captain.

Then, there was second-in-command Nightshade. He had actually been a Wonderbolt prior to a backfired stunt that injured several audience members during the Summer Sun Celebration… and he secretly harbored a crush on Captain Blackthorn.

Finally, there was the captain, Blackthorn herself. No one, not even her own inner circle, knew very much about her. She had just came to them, one by one, and told them she was putting a team together.

Meanwhile, on the screen, Shining Armor was telling the press that the Royal Guard was investigating both the destruction of the convoy and the TV satelite hackings, but had so far had no leads.

“In Equestrian, that means ‘we’re not taking these so-called Shadowbolts seriously,’” commented Starry Skies.

“Fear not, Starry, we’ll fix that just as soon as we obliterate a few military bases… and, of course, the Big One,” said Blackthorn.

The others smirked. Blueball however, laughed hysterically. “Oh, yes, Captain! The Big One will great a nice big flood of chaos and discord! Just like you wanted!”

“Indeed it will… but, remember, that’s not what we’re after… Lieutenant Nightshade, remind everypony what it is that we hope to accomplish by all of this,” said Blackthorn.

Nightshade nodded. “Each of us have been scorned by a certain faction of the Equestrian Military, be it the Wonderbolts or the Royal Guard-” he said.

“Uh, I haven’t,” said Blueball.

“Oh yes, that’s right, you’re only here to avoid getting sent to the loony bin,” said Charger with a sneer.

“I… AM...NOT… CRAZY!” yelled Blueball.

Stratus laughed. “Blueball, your engine’s running, but there’s nopony behind the wheel,” he said with amusement as Blueball turned red.

Starry nodded. “You’re nuttier than squirrel shit, Blueball… or, should we call you ‘Screwball’?” she said.

“All of you, shut the Tartarus up!” yelled Blackthorn, her dark eyes flashing.

Almost instantly, the quarreling Shadowbolts became silent.

“That’s better. Nightshade, continue,” said Blackthorn.

“Uh, yes, Captain. Anyways, our goals are really quite simple: destroy all Wonderbolts and Royal Guard members, be they cadets or official members, and take Equestria for ourselves,” finished Nightshade.

“And the Big One, plus all of these minor attacks, is just how we’re gonna do it. Then, we’ll be able to crush them in battle,” said Blackthorn.

“Uh, meaning no disrespect, Captain, but what do we do if the Elements of Harmony should get in the way?” asked Stratus.

“You know, Captain, I think Stratus has a valid point. They’ve turned Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna, sealed the Spirit of Chaos in stone, fought off the entire Changeling Hive, and destroyed Sombra,” said Starry Skies.

“And they did those last two without their Elements… and let’s not forget the time they stopped the Everfree Forest from overtaking all of Equestria,” said Charger.

Blackthorn paused for a moment. It had occurred to her that the Mane 6 might try to meddle with her plans. “Those six fools haven’t been together in over a year. And even if they do try to get in our way, we have the power to destroy them. Now, get ready, we’re almost at the base,” said Blackthorn.

Rainbow Dash, exhausted from fighting off wave after wave of Shadowbolt troops who were attacking Canterlot, was still fighting as valiantly as she could. She turned and saw Derpy Hooves, who was desperately fighting to escape Captain Blackthorn, who was armed with a concealed dagger.

Rainbow took to the skies, and tackled Blackthorn, thus freeing Derpy.

"Say good night, my little hero!" snarled Blackthorn, tossing the dagger

But, Derpy, in an act of valor threw herself in front of the blade, thus causing Blackthorn to impale her instead.

“DERPY! NOOOO!” yelled Rainbow, running to the mortally-wounded Derpy’s aid.

As Rainbow flew towards the falling Derpy, everything around her changed into the belowdecks of a warship, and Derpy turned into Spitfire, who had flecks of gray in her mane, and had a different sort of wound in her chest, rather than a impale wound.

“Captain!” said Rainbow, her voice somewhat rougher as she knelt beside Spitfire, and she was wearing a green and blue version of the Wonderbolts unifrom “Come on, Captain! You’re tough as nails! You can pull through it!”

“No… I… can’t…” gasped Spitfire. “Rainbow Dash… you've always been the better pony out of the two of us”

“Me? But... you're captain of the Wonderbolts...” said Rainbow.

“Yes… but, now it’s up to you… you must save Equestria...” said Spitfire, before her eyes turned into nothing more than vacant orbs as another explosion rocked the ship…

Rainbow Dash gasped as she woke up from the nightmare.

That was one horrible nightmare… Derpy killed, Spitfire killed… jeez, it really DOES sound terrible, thought Rainbow as she got a drink of water… it had been only a dream, right?

But, then why do I feel like it’s almost going to happen for real? thought Rainbow as she got back into bed. Nah, it’s just pre-performance jitters… I hope.

At the Trottingham Royal Guard Base, everything was relatively calm. In the control room, two unicorns were sitting around, one playing with a paddleball, and the other playing a hand-held video game.

Unbeknownst to the soldiers who were there, all snuggled up in bed, Charger and Stratus snuck about in the vents wearing gas masks and carrying gas canisters with a blue potion in them.

“Is everything ready?” came Blackthorn’s voice over Charger and Stratus’s headsets.

“Just about, my Captain,” said Charger.

“Good. Blueball has the camera ready,” said Blackthorn.

With the flick of the switch, deadly Poison Joke gas sprayed through the vents...

Reunion

The following afternoon, Rainbow Dash, clad in her Wonderbolt uniform, stood in the locker room, looking at her reflection. She’d come so far since Ponyville… and now, she was finally about to start living her dream.

“Hey, Rainbow! You ready?” asked Spitfire.

As Rainbow took her place with her fillyhood heroes, she replied, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“And now, fillies and gentlecolts… we are pleased to introduce… THE WONDERBOLTS!!!” said the announcer pony as the aerial stunt performers soared over the stadium. The crowd went wild as the Wonderbolts flew over the stadium.

Rainbow Dash herself felt… what was that made up word Pinkie had used… nervous-cited Yeah, that was it, thought Rainbow.

As the show went on, the crowd oohed and awed at the Wonderbolts death-defying stunts… but, the big finale was yet to come…

“And now, fillies and gentlecolts, a newcomer to the group, will now perform the legendary Sonic Rainboom!” said the announcer.

“Do your thing, Rainbow!” yelled Spitfire, before she fell out of sight.

Rainbow gritted her teeth and soared into the skies until everyone, including the Wonderbolts, were no more than specks.

“And… here we go!” said Rainbow, before she started falling at breakneck speeds. “Come on, come on, come on!” she growled as the sound barrier wrapped around her.

Finally, just as Rainbow reached the stadium, a sonic rainboom happened, and Rainbow pulled up, her mane and tail creating a rainbow as she pulled up, crying, “YEAH!!!!”

The crowd, meanwhile, went completely nuts, cheering, “Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!”

So… this is what being a superstar feels like… sounds like… and looks like! thought Rainbow. This… is AWESOME!!!

Unbeknownst to the Wonderbolts, or even the crowd, there was one pony, a pegasus mare with a light turquoise coat and an amber mane and tail wearing a black overcoat, a black wide-brimmed hat, and shades, who looked at the stunt show with a sickened sneer.

Bask in your glory while you can, Rainbow Dash, because once Captain Blackthorn gets her hooves on you and/or your old pals… you’ll wish you’d stayed a lowly weatherpony! she thought.

As the pony made her way out of the stands, she bumped into a unicorn stallion, spilling his nachos down the front of her overcoat.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t see you,” said the stallion.

“Oh, don’t apologize… I never do,” said the pony as she left the stands with a smirk on her face.

There’s a day of reckoning coming, fillies and gentlecolts… everypony better batten down the hatches and stay out of the way… thought the mare.

As Rainbow left the stadium, she waved at a few fans as she passed them… until a pink blur tackled her.

“Rainbow! Do you remember me?!” squealed the blur, who was actually a pink Earth Pony with a bushy pink mane and tail.

“P-Pinkie Pie?” said Rainbow, hardly believing her eyes.

“You do! You do remember me!” squealed Pinkie, jumping for joy.

“Now, the question is, do you remember us?” asked a mare’s voice, which had a South Equestrian accent.

Rainbow’s jaw dropped when she saw who else was there: Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and…

“Spike? Is that you?” asked Rainbow.

The purple and green dragon smiled. He was now about Rarity’s height looking very stylish in a black jacket, a white shirt, blue jeans, and gray sneakers.

“What’s with the get-up?” asked Rainbow.

“I thought it’d make me look more dashing,” said Spike, whose voice was deep and had a reassuring something to it, before he quickly glanced at Rarity.

Rainbow smiled. So, Spike still has that crush on Rarity… I wonder if she’s figured it out yet, she thought.

“Hey, Rainbow, guess what?” said Twilight, holding up her hoof. On it was a diamond engagement ring.

“So, you and Flash Sentry are gonna tie the knot?” asked Rainbow, face breaking into a huge grin.

“Yes, in six months… provided those Shadowbolts don’t do something to ruin it… say, did you hear about the attack?” asked Twilight.

“Who didn’t after they hacked the TV?” said Rainbow.

Twilight looked down. “Actually, there was another one last night. They used some kind of weaponized Poison Joke gas to kill everypony at the Trottingham Royal Guard Base,” she said.

Rainbow herself looked down. “Let’s not talk about that. So, what have the rest of you been up to?” she asked.

As Rainbow, Spike, and the girls walked and talked on their way to the hotel where the girls were staying, the six of them could feel the fire of their old friendship start to re-ignite. Pinkie Pie had bought the Ponyville Prank Shop, and was turning out a nice profit.

Rarity’s Carousel Boutique had stores in not just Ponyville, but in Shady Oaks and Fillydelphia, too.

Applejack, meanwhile, had taken over the running of Sweet Apple Acres ever since Granny Smith had passed away in her sleep about six months earlier.

As for Fluttershy, she had started up her own pet shop, and taken in an orphaned phoenix.

“So, what about you, Rainbow? Do you have a special somepony?” asked Twilight.

Rainbow Dash blushed. “Well, I do have a date with Soarin tomorrow,” she said nervously.

The other ponies and Spike smiled.

“Good for you, Rainbow,” said Twilight. “Well, this is us.”

The group had arrived at the hotel. Rainbow couldn’t help but feel saddened as she and the girls parted ways.

I’m sure I’ll see them again soon, though, thought Rainbow. After all, true friendship has a way of making a comeback… like a phoenix.

The Big One

Rainbow walked into the Hayloft Restaurant wearing a simple blue dress and her hair pulled back. Soarin was already at their table, wearing a blue suit and tie. Rainbow ordered a Caesar Salad while Soarin ordered a DDD, or Daisy-Dandelion-Daffodil, Salad. As the two ate, drank wine, and recounted the misadventures they had, they somehow found themselves on the topic of the Shadowbolts.

“When the last hacked message appeared, Blackthorn said that both the attacks were merely unlit kindling, and that the match, the ‘Big One’ was coming sooner than we thought,” said Soarin.

Rainbow sighed as she took a sip of wine. “What’s their goal? Every major threat the girls and I ever faced had a goal of some sort. Nightmare Moon wanted revenge after being trapped in the moon for a thousand years, Discord wanted to get even with Celestia for trapping him in stone, those Changelings wanted a buffet, and Sombra wanted his throne back,” Rainbow explained. “But, these guys… I can’t make out their goal at all.”

“Join the club,” said Soarin, taking a sip of wine. “But, that’s not what’s got me, or any of the Princesses, worried. If destroying a fleet and wiping out a military base was merely unlit fuel… I hate to think what the Big One is.”

As Rainbow and Soarin left the restaurant, dark clouds swirled overhead. In fact, they had barely made it off the block when the rain started to fall. They quickly took shelter under a newspaper stand. While they were there, Rainbow and Soarin looked into each others eyes… Before either of them really knew what was happening, Rainbow and Soarin closed their eyes, leaned in, and kissed…

When Rainbow and Soarin got to Rainbow’s place, they went straight to the bedroom. Moments later, passionate moaning could be heard from behind the closed door as Rainbow Dash and Soarin Skylar started to make their feathers fly….

Oh, if they only knew how short their night of passion was going to be.

Meanwhile, six solid black ships, which allowed them to blend into the stormy night, flew towards Canterlot. They were all Shadowbolt ships. They were named The Endeavor, King Sombra’s Revenge, The Cobra, The Basilisk, and the flagship, The Wicked Wench. In a matter of moments, the ships had gotten so close to Canterlot that if the Unicorn Royal Guard raised a shield, they would only trap themselves inside.

Which, of course, was Captain Blackthorn’s plan.

“My loyal soldiers,” boomed Blackthorn, her voice reaching across the distance between the ships. “Tonight, we launch our great assault upon the fools of Equestria. After tonight, when Canterlot is nothing more than ruins, we will finally have our war. Begin the assault!”

As cannon fire began demolishing the buildings, a swarm of Shadowbolt soldiers flew in and began attacking the innocent ponies there.

About an hour later, the Wonderbolts, Rainbow and Soarin among them, flew into battle. Noticing the look that Rainbow and Soarin were giving each other, a kind of longing look, Spitfire asked, “What’s up with you?”

“Well… me and Rainbow had a date tonight,” said Soarin.

“Good for you, but right now you two may want to focus less on your love life, and a bit more on not getting killed,” said Spitfire, as the Wonderbolts began fighting the Shadowbolt Army, alongside the other Elements and the Royal Guard.

Captain Blackthorn, meanwhile, was weaving in and out of the warring ponies, searching for something, only to be rammed into by a gray pegasus mare with a blonde mane and tail with a lost-looking face, which looked very angry… and perhaps a bit desperate.

“Go away! Don’t you come near my darling Dinky!” yelled Derpy Hooves.

“Ah, a family mare, are we? I suppose using you as ransome might pull out a nice bit of profit,” said Blackthorn, before shooting a small bolt of black lightning, stunning Derpy just long enough for Blackthorn to grab her, and begin returning to The Wench, despite Derpy struggling.

“Ah, a hero to the end, are we, Rainbow Dash?” said Blackthorn, firing a blast of black magic at Rainbow, who barely avoided it.

“Wait, how do you know my name?” asked Rainbow, getting a few kicks in on Blackthorn.

Blackthorn simply chuckled. “Let’s just say we’ve met in another life,” she said, before firing several more blasts, one of which hit Rainbow, disorienting her.

Derpy watched on as Rainbow and Blackthorn did battle. When the last blast hit Rainbow, she saw Blackthorn pull out a hidden dagger… and there was only one thing she could do.

Dinky… forgive me, thought Derpy as she flew toward Rainbow and Blackthorn as the Shadowbolt captain threw the dagger with a cry of, "Say good night, my little hero!"

Derpy, in an act of valor threw herself in front of the blade.

It hit her squarely in the chest.

“DERPY!” yelled Rainbow, diving down as the gray mare began to fall out of the sky.

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Blackthorn looked down at the falling pegasi without pity. “Shadowbolts! Our work here is finished!” she yelled.

Most of the Shadowbolts left the destroyed city returned to their ships, but a few hung around for a moment, for they had known Derpy well. In the end, every last Shadowbolt made a clean getaway.

Rainbow caught Derpy before she hit the ground. Blood poured from the dagger wound when Rainbow pulled it out, pausing only for a moment to read the inscription on the dagger, Blood and Honor.

“R-Rainbow… I feel… so cold…” said Derpy.

“It’s gonna be okay, Derpy, you’re gonna make it,” said Rainbow, tears running down her face as she spoke.

“No… no, I’m not. Rainbow, you know my daughter Dinky, right?” said Derpy, who was now fighting to survive just long enough to get this last bit of information out.

“Y-yes, what about her?” asked Rainbow.

“When I’m gone… there’s only one pony who can take care of her… her Faustmother,” said Derpy.

“Y-yeah, and who is that?” asked Rainbow, starting to rock Derpy like a child.

“You, Rainbow… you’re her Faustmother. It’ll be up to you to tell my little Dinky why Mommy isn’t coming home…” said Derpy, before she gave a huge grin. “I just don’t know what went wrong…”

With those last words, Derpy Hooves passed away in a sobbing Rainbow Dash’s arms.

The Thunderbolts

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It was raining the day of Derpy Hooves’ funeral. Although the funeral went only on for about an hour and a half, for Rainbow and her new foster daughter, Dinky, it felt more like fifty years, due to the fact that Dinky had lost her mother and Rainbow had lost one of her best friends. Aside from that, Rainbow couldn’t help but feel incredibly guilty. Blackthorn’s blade had been meant for her, not Derpy… Rainbow wished Soarin could be here to help, but he’d been called away for something important.

One thing’s for sure, thought Rainbow. The Shadowbolts must be destroyed… and I think I know somepony who can help me. “Rain Drop, can you keep an eye on Dinky? I need to talk to the Princesses,” said Rainbow.

Meanwhile, in Canterlot Castle, or rather, what was left of it, Princess Luna approached her elder sister, who was in what used to be the throne room.

“Most of our books are intact, and our belongings are ready to be moved to Manehattan,” said Luna, before seeing the troubled look on Celestia’s face. “Tia, what’s wrong?”

Celestia gazed at an old oil painting. It was of her parents, herself as a mare barely out of fillyhood, and a newborn Princess Luna. “Luna, I have lived in this castle for the better part of a millenium… and now, in a single night, it’s nothing more than a ruin… thank Faust that you made it through, Luna…” said Celestia, embracing her little sister. “I’m not going to lose you again.”

“I know, big sister… I know… that’s why this new team is so important. They will have the talent, the skill, and the ability to take down Blackthorn and the Shadowbolts… we have most of the team and the uniforms… all we need now is a Captain and a name,” said Luna.

“Um, excuse me, Princesses? Is this a bad time?” came Rainbow’s voice from the doorway.

“And I think we just solved the Captain problem,” whispered Luna. “Come in, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow, looking a little nervous, entered the ruins, and bowed. “Uh, with all due respect your Highnesses… what is being done about Blackthorn and her gang of terrorists? I lost one of my oldest and closest friends during the battle… I want the chance to avenge her,” said Rainbow.

“I understand, Rainbow… and you will have it. The time has come to bring the Shadowbolts’ campaign of terror to an end… and you’re going to be on the front lines of this war. If you’ll follow us,” said Luna.

Rainbow, a little confused and nervous, followed the Princesses into a side room. In there were five other pegasi, two mares and three stallions, who were dressed in flight suits similar to the Wonderbolts, but the sky-blue was a deep dark blue, and the yellow lightning bolts were an emerald green.

“Hey, Rainbow!” called Soarin, walking up to his fillyfriend.

“W-who are these ponies?” asked Rainbow.

“Well, they’re your team, Captain. What would you like to call them?” asked Celestia.

Rainbow’s jaw dropped. I’m Captain of my own team? was the thought that ran through her mind. After a moment, a name for her team came to her mind… something Derpy had mistakenly called the Wonderbolts…

A few hours later, Celestia and Luna were holding a press conference in response to the Canterlot attack.

“What happened in Canterlot three nights ago was nothing short of a tragedy and an act of war. It is for that reason that we are creating a new resource. Some of you may remember Rainbow Dash as the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty. But, now she will have a second moniker,” said Celestia.

From above, six pegasi clad in dark blue flight suits, including Rainbow Dash, flew overhead at speeds that were nearly impossible to chart. They landed in a circle, the press conference in the dead center.

“Presenting the Thunderbolts. A group of six fliers who are nothing short of the best of the best. So, Blackthorn, listen up if you’re watching: you wanted to start a war? Well, we will finish it,” said Luna as the entire crowd burst into cheers.

Later, the Thunderbolts sat at a tavern in Manehattan, which was serving as the temporary capital of Equestria, the newly-minted Thunderbolts sat, sporting their new green dress uniforms, drinking cider as they got acquainted with each other.

In addition to Soarin and Rainbow Dash, there was a mare with a lavender mane and tail with a deep purple coat named Moonlight Twinkle. Prior to her new gig, she had been at the Wonderbolts academy, and was highly skilled in combat.

Also present was a mare with a white coat and a silvery blonde mane and tail named Ice Wind. She had been Shining Armor’s fourth-in-command.

Among the two new stallions was a pony with a cobalt coat and a green mane and tail named Falcon Screech, who, like Ice Wind, had been in the Royal Guard as Shining Armor sixth-in-command.

The second stallion had a black coat and an aqua mane and tail. His name was Whiplash, and he had been a Wonderbolt team leader just like Rainbow, albeit a few years ahead.

Abruptly, once meet-and-greet was done, the topic turned to Blackthorn and the Shadowbolts.

“Whoever she is, she must have great hacking skills if she was able to commandeer every last TV in Equestria,” said Falcon.

“And she clearly has talent in military tactics, so I’m willing to bet she may have been attending either the Wonderbolt Academy or the Royal Guard Academy,” said Ice Wind.

Soarin looked thoughtful for a moment. “Captain, if you don’t mind me saying, there seems to be a lot of pageantry in Blackthorn’s actions,” he said.

“You know, you might actually be onto something. There does seem to be a lot of theatre in her actions,” said Rainbow.

As the Thunderbolts kept talking, a dark shadow listened in on every last word.

So, they think they can last against my puppet’s Shadowbolts? Well, we shall see about that! And Rainbow will pay for humiliating my family like that! thought the shadow.