As Cloudsdale got closer, the ponies looked upon it in awe. It was completely made of clouds, as rainbow waterfalls poured down. Cloud pillars supported many buildings, and the weather factory continued to produce clouds for Equestria. On the western side of the city was the Cloudiseum, where the Best Young Flyer’s Competition would take place. Pegasi flew around the city. The hot air balloon, guided by the wind, got closer to the spectacular sight.

Rainbow and Fluttershy landed on the beautiful city, waiting for the hot air balloon to get there. When it did, the ponies tried getting the hang of the clouds. “It’s been so long since we were last here, and it’s just as beautiful as ever!” Rarity exclaimed.

They suddenly heard a chariot land, then another. Turning around, they saw it was the Princesses. “Hello, Twilight,” said Princess Celestia. “It’s always good to see you.”

“What about that whole Smarty Pants thing?” Pinkie chirped in. Silence.

“How has your kingdom been?” Luna asked.

“Eh, it’s still hard trying to run a whole kingdom, but at least I have my friends.” Twilight then realized something. “Wait a minute, who’s watching the castle if both of you are here?”

Meanwhile, at Canterlot Castle, Discord was well… being Discord. He laughed as he messed around, causing chaos in the castle.

Captain Sentry cringed at the thought of Discord wreaking havoc in the castle. “I’ll bet the castle will probably be at least a little messed up,” he commented. “Besides, after seeing how easily Tirek took down the guards, I’m not sure if Discord will be up for this.”

“Says the pony who thought an opossum was a monster,” Luna deadpanned.

Flash turned to Twilight, whose cheeks would have boiled water. “I’m not sure that blushing is appropriate for royalty to do in public,” he told her. “You don’t want anypony to think that you’re neglecting your royal duties. Besides, seeing how your kingdom is currently just limited to Ponyville, ”

“But there’s Cadence,” Twilight responded.

“That’s because she’s the Princess of Love,” Flash countered. “So try to keep a regal air for a little while, and-“

“Captain, I appreciate your concerns for Princess Twilight,” interrupted Luna. “But she has done so in Ponyville, and can do so now.”

“But Ponyville’s her kingdom! This is Cloudsdale! She’s practically-“

There was a loud bell ringing. The Competition was about to begin.

The Cloudiseum was packed with ponies, all waiting for the pegasi to begin their flights. “WELCOME TO THE 32ND ANNUAL BEST YOUNG FLYER’S COMPETITION!” announced Blaring Voice. “THIS WILL BE A COMPETITION TO REMEMBER, AS PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE IS ENTERING! FIRST UP, A QUICK SHOW FROM… THE WONDERBOLTS!”

Six pegasi in flight suits flew over the Cloudiseum, flying up and converging, making an explosion like a firework. Over in the stands, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike cheered for their friend. And Rainbow cheered even louder for the Wonderbolts.

“THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME AN ALICORN HAS EVER JOINED THE BEST YOUNG FLYER’S COMPETITION! NOW, PRINCESS CELESTIA SHALL BEGIN THE CEREMONY!”

The Princess of the Day stepped forward. “Thank you, Blaring.” She looked around the Cloudiseum. “It’s a fine day for a competition, and I’m happy that you all came to observe. Now then… let the competition begin!”

In the back room, the fifteen contestants all were waiting. Twilight was number 12, and number 1, Cappuccino, had just gone out. Out in the stands, everypony applauded whenever a contestant was done.

As number 11, Rainbowshine, came back in, Twilight gulped when it approached her turn. She flew out of the back room. “PRESENTING HER ROYAL HIGHNESS, PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

She landed on a cloud, and slowly levitated two spheres of water. She then created one more, then four more. Lighting up the spheres with her magic, she merged them all into one big sphere of water. She then blasted them with a beam of magic, blowing up the colored sphere and creating a rainbow in its wake. Applause filled the stadium. “IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A WINNER!” And the crowd went wild.

Everypony was either standing and cheering or flailing and cursing the refs. But one audience member had a grim expression on his face, putting on a hood. On the other side of the Cloudiseum, another pony did the same thing. It kept repeating, until one of the hooded ponies reached into his popcorn and pulls out what seems to be an exploding slip. The audience around is completely oblivious. As are the guards and Princesses. And then the pony throws the slip into the air, and it explodes, getting the crowd’s attention.

One of the hooded ponies, a unicorn, proceeded to use sleeping spells on the crowd. Twilight gasped, looking around when she heard roars… looking down, she saw a horrifying sight.

A flock of dragons, just larger than an average gryphon. They had sickly green scales and purple bat-like wings. But unlike most dragons, their heads were more square-shaped and had significantly smaller horns. “Stratodons,” whispered Twilight. In the lead was a teal ram with red eyes. Grogar. His horns glowed, and strange dark creatures appeared, flying towards the remaining ponies.

“Twilight, that ram right there is Grogar. If he plans to attack Equestria, you need to learn how to do this,” Celestia told the lavender alicorn. Her horn then glowed as three rings of magic formed around one of the dark creatures, turning the darkness into a golden light. The creature then dissipated into specks of light, disappearing. “Grogar’s main weapon is dark magic, but his most powerful ability is his ability to corrupt ponies with his magic. However, that spell I just showed you can reverse Grogar’s corruption.”

“Alright, so I- GAH!”

Twilight was hit by a blast of magic, and fell right towards Grogar, who eagerly awaited the Princess of Friendship’s fall. The alicorn looked at the ground far below, gulping. Evil ram, or being squashed flat by a long fall?

“GOTCHA!”

Twilight looked up. It was a pale blue Pegasus stallion with a dark blue mane. “What?”

“The winner of the Best Young Flyer’s Competition is rewarded with a day with the Wonderbolts.” Soarin pulled Twilight back into the Cloudiseum, where she was placed in the bleachers with her friends. “This counts in a way.”

Twilight’s horn then glowed, as did Celestia and Luna’s. A huge shield spell then appeared around Cloudsdale, knocking Grogar and his forces towards the ground. The evil ram then teleported him and his forces away from the cloud city, meaning a temporary victory for the ponies.

As the audience began to wake up, Celestia took the stand. “Citizens of Cloudsdale. Just now, Grogar, a wicked sorcerer, recently attacked us. Now then, I must give my thanks to the Wonderbolt Soarin, who saved Princess Twilight’s life.”

Then Luna, for some reason, used a cloud-walking spell on Twilight. “Um, Princess, why did you do that?” she asked.

“Because Grogar has already done his first strike,” Luna said grimly. Twilight then felt the place where Grogar struck her begin to hurt, and then she realized where he had struck, and the results.

He had taken her wings.

Author's Note

Yeah, I know it seems a bit OP of Grogar being able to take Twilight's wings, but trust me, I'll explain it soon enough. By the way, this is the longest chapter I've ever written when writing fanfics. By the way, whenever there seems to be a plot hole, I'll always explain it later.