Being A Wonderboltby The Red GuitarChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2 Chapter 3Chapter 1If there was ever a better day for Rainbow Dash, she wouldn't know what was. Her throat became tight as she walked up the small steps to the stage. She glanced at the audience; everypony was there for her, smiling with pride. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and her parents along with other Wonderbolt friends watched as Rainbow Dash trotted to the centre of the stage. There waiting for her was the captain of the Wonderbolt team, Spitfire. I did it. I finally made it into the Wonderbolts! The sun shone brightly on the day of the ceremony at the main square of Rainbow Dash's hometown, Cloudsdale. Reporters were there to cover the story of the newest addition to the Wonderbolt team. Not only that, it was reported that she had made it into the main team! With her hard work and determination, it was no wonder she was given this once in a lifetime opportunity. She squealed inside with excitement as she finally came face to face with the Wonderbolt Captain. Spitfire looked long and hard into Rainbow Dash' eyes, almost like she was testing the new pony. Rainbow was waiting for this moment ever since she was a small filly. Beside them facing the audience was a podium with a microphone. Spitfire turned to the stand and spoke into the microphone. "Hello, everypony. This is a very special day. For this is the day that the newest member of our team will be inducted at this ceremony. This young mare has given everything she could to make it into the Wonderbolts. Not only that, she will be now be replacing the retiring member of our main team, Thunder Gust. "She won many competitions as a flyer in her childhood years, and broken more records in our Wonderbolt academy than anypony else. She has faced hardships, and is also one of the Elements of Harmony for Loyalty." Rainbow Dash smirked at the last line. That was sure to seal the fact that she was the real deal; not just some washed up pegasus wannabe who just only wanted to be in the Wonderbolts for fame. As Spitfire spoke, Rainbow Dash tuned her out and scanned the ocean of ponies standing in the audience. She squinted her eyes and tried to find a small filly; somepony so special that she didn't compare to her parents or even her friends. She was looking for her number one fan. "Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow Dash snapped from her thoughts and glanced at Spitfire. "Wuh?" Spitfire pointed to the microphone. "Would you like to say a couple words?" Rainbow Dash blinked a couple times and looked at the audience. Suddenly, she was stabbed with the realization that she had to make a speech. She also realized that she was not the type of pony to actually give a speech in front of a large number of ponies in the same place. Sweat poured down as she felt herself getting hotter by the minute with anxiety. "Um, well," she stammered. "I dunno if I should..." "Hey," Spitfire said, whispering into her ear. "You got something to prove to these ponies here. Tell them that you can do it. It's not like you're lying to them." Rainbow Dash thought about it for a moment, then nodded with a smile. Spitfire returned the gesture and made room for Rainbow Dash to get to the microphone. Her throat tightened again as she made her way to the wooden podium. She scrambled for ideas on what to say. She thought about this moment and planned it all for most of her life, and now she was turning a blank. You're a genius, Rainbow. Before she even knew it, she found herself at the podium, with hundreds of ponies staring at her, waiting for her to say something. The crowd was silent and reporters pointed down their cameras to hear what Rainbow Dash would say. A waterfall of sweat poured down her forehead as she tried to form at least an idea what she was about to say. "Heh, wow," she stuttered. "This is pretty intense." The crowd remained silent. There was a distant cough. Rainbow Dash darted her eyes around and scanned the crowd again. She was messing up already. How could she mess up? She had been waiting for this moment all her life and she couldn't even speak! "Yeah, Rainbow Dash!" She heard a distant voice. She quickly recognized the voice, and instantly found her words. "This is the greatest day of my life. There are so many ponies to thank, but I can only mention a few. I would like to thank my parents for pushing me to the very limit, my very best friends, and my biggest fan in the entire world. You know who you are. Thank you." The moment remained quiet, then broke into hysterics. They stomped on the ground and cheered for the newest addition to the Wonderbolts. Rainbow Dash hastily went off the stage and wiped her brow. She glanced at Spitfire, who nodded reassuringly. She made her way to the podium to say some more words. "The last speaker I would like to bring to the podium is our retiring main member. He has been in service for ten years. However, due to personal reasons, he is now leaving the Wonderbolts in order to pursue other interests. Give it up for Thunder Gust!" Spitfire moved away from the podium to let Thunder Gust through. He was a grey pegasus with a mohawk and had a sturdy build. Rainbow Dash always wondered why he was retiring; he was only thirty and he could still fly like he did before. Rainbow respected his decision, of course, but she was still curious. "My dear fans," Thunder Gust started to say. "It was a great pleasure to perform and compete alongside with this wonderful group known as the Wonderbolts. Even though I am retiring, I believe in the newest member of the group to take the torch and light this group like nopony has ever done before. I wish Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Wonderbolts good luck. Thank you all for the support you have gave me, and more. Thank you." The crowd cheered once again, as a band played and the ceremony closed. "So, Rainbow, you gonna come to the party tonight?" Rainbow Dash perked her ears up. "A party?" Spitfire laughed calmly as the team walked down the streets of Cloudsdale after the ceremony. "Did you really think that was it? That was the formal event; the party is where we really get to have fun." Soarin pushed through the group. "Yeah, we usually have a party for somepony when they become a Wonderbolt. They're really fun, and we just hang out and drink the night away." Rainbow Dash smiled. "Yeah, that sounds great! If there's apple cider, I'm all for it!" Soarin laughed. "Well, we got a lot of that!" "Perfect!" The sun was setting and the moon was rising as they made their way to the Wonderbolts Headquarters. The building, on the outside, looked like a regular office building. Inside, it was the same, decorated with Wonderbolt attire. There were display cases portraying the previous generations of Wonderbolts, wearing the respective uniforms from their era. There was rooms with desks for all of the Wonderbolts so they could do work. The main room was cleared to make room for the party. Streamers were lined up lazily above the guests and a desk was set up for the refreshments and apple cider. A little disco ball was brought out and music boomed out of speakers. The Wonderbolts, wearing nothing but street clothing, danced, talked and drank as the night wore on. Rainbow Dash stood at a corner, talking to nopony. She just grinned and sipped on her apple cider. She never figured that she would be in an event like this. She never thought she would in the Wonderbolts at all! "Hey, squirt!" A voice said, smacking her in the back of her head, making her spill some of her cider. She turned to see Soarin, redder than the sunset as he waved his cup of cider around, spilling it to the floor. "Hey, Soarin," Rainbow Dash said timidly. "Yo, how's it goin? Whatcha doin' all by yourself, man?" Soarin replied drunkenly. "Oh, I don't know," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, I know these guys, but I don't know them. I'm afraid I'll say something stupid." Soarin looked around and cocked his head back to laugh. "Hey, there's no worries. Hey, you know, actually..." "Hey everypony!" Soarin yelled, causing the party goers to look at their direction. "Alright, I wanna make a toast, to our newest member, aight?" The Wonderbolts cheered and slammed their mugs together and drank the cider. Rainbow Dash laughed nervously. She turned to see that Spitfire was coming to Rainbow. She smiled a little bit, thanking Celestia that there was somepony other than a stallion to talk to. "Hey, Rainbow," Spitfire greeted. "How are you enjoying the party?" "I'm doing alright," Rainbow replied. "Hey, didn't you get a mug of cider?" "Me? Nah, I don't drink. I'd rather have water than get a splitting headache." Rainbow chuckled softly. "Yeah, I guess." "Hey. If you're nervous, I can show you around. You're not gonna get anywhere in this team if you don't meet the others." "Yeah, I guess. But what if I say something dumb?" "You impressed me. How hard can it be to impress others?" "Hey, I guess you're right!" Spitfire laughed. "C'mon, let's introduce you to our buddies." The party was over, and the rest of the Wonderbolts had gone home. Before Rainbow Dash could get out the door of the building, Spitfire stopped her. "Hey, wanna see something really cool?" Interested, Rainbow Dash followed Spitfire into one of the rooms. It was dark inside and Rainbow couldn't see anything. Spitfire flicked on the lights, and Rainbow gasped. It was an entire room, just for her. There was a desk with a stack of papers and a bunch of quill pens. There was wallpapers showcasing the Wonderbolts at their finest. It had drawers, a safe, bookshelves and best of all, a commemorative plaque on the wall, displaying Rainbow Dash's achievement of becoming a Wonderbolt. Rainbow Dash sputtered with wide eyes. The sputters stopped as she smiled like a filly at Hearth's Warming Day. "This used to be Thunder Gust's room, but now it's yours. You can do anything you want with it. Go crazy with it." "Oh my Celestia..." Rainbow Dash said quietly. Spitfire smiled warmly and headed out the door. "Tell me when you're finished so the janitor can lock this place up." Rainbow Dash didn't hear any of what Spitfire said. She was too occupied with her new room. An office space. All for me. She felt like she was on the edge of tears, but quickly wiped her eyes so no water would escape. She walked slowly around the room, admiring all of the furniture. The papers, for her. The desk, for her. A small window that she could peer from and look down at the sister town of Ponyville, for her. It was almost unreal that she would get all of this. She knew now that she earned every single piece of that room. Rainbow Dash's ears perked as she heard voices outside her room. She stared at the door as she heard approaching footsteps. A blur of orange and purple popped out from the edge of the door. Rainbow Dash saw a smile. It was the smile of her number one fan. "Rainbow Dash!" "Scoots!" Scootaloo sprinted to Rainbow and pounced on to her body. The two toppled to the floor and laughed as they playfully wrestled for a small moment. Rainbow Dash was very happy that she could see her favourite filly again. Scootaloo got up from Rainbow Dash and they both stood up. "This is the best thing ever! You're a Wonderbolt now!" Rainbow Dash smiled. "Yeah, I totally am." "How does it feel to be one now?" "Take the happiest moment of your life and multiply it by infinity!" Scootaloo widened her smile. "Wow! That must be really happy!" "Yeah, it sure is." Scootaloo's smile dropped and she looked down at the floor. Rainbow noticed and perked up her ears. "Hey, what's wrong, squirt?" Scootaloo sighed. "Well, this means that I won't get to see you much now..." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. The realization struck her like a dagger in the heart. She never thought about it before, but now that the moment has finally come, she realized there would be little time for the small filly. What could she do? She had duties to attend to. She couldn't throw them away because Scootaloo needed training. No, she couldn't abandon Scootaloo like that. She would simply have to take days off to make time for her. The Wonderbolts was important; Scootaloo was even more important. "Hey, don't worry. I'll take days off. Then we can hang out, like we usually do." Scootaloo looked up at her with sorrowful eyes. "Promise?" Rainbow Dash smiled. "Promise." "Yay!" Scootaloo immediately changed her tone and hugged Rainbow. She was caught by surprise, but she returned the hug anyways. Her heartstrings were tugged to the point where they were ripped apart. Rainbow Dash loved the little filly; almost like she was a sister to her. "Oh! I forgot something!" Scootaloo raced out of the room. Rainbow Dash got up and raised her brow. It sounded like a box being dragged across the floor. Sure enough, it was. Scootaloo panted as she stopped. Rainbow Dash looked inside the box and gasped; there were a ton of pictures of her in her signature pose. "What are these?" "They're photos for you to sign!" Rainbow Dash glanced at the photos. There must be hundreds of those! "Do I really have this many fans?" "Why would you not have fans?" Rainbow Dash looked at the pictures. I have fans. Rainbow Dash smiled and took one of the pictures. She went to her desk and got a quill. She scribbled on the picture furiously. Scootaloo tried to look over shoulder, but she couldn't see. Finally, Rainbow Dash turned around and gave the picture to the little filly. She looked at the picture for two seconds before smiling. "Wow! An autograph from Rainbow Dash!" "Yep. Now you can show those kids who's boss." "Yeah! Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon don't have anything as special as this!" "Yeah..." "Hey, Dash?' Rainbow Dash perked up. "What's up?" "I love you." Rainbow Dash's skipped a beat. She said nothing and her eyes grew wide. Tears swelled up in her eyes as she couldn't control her emotions. She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Oh, Scoots..." Rainbow Dash hugged the small filly like she never hugged anypony before. She was too valuable; she did not want anything to happen to her. She wanted to spend every waking moment with her. She was the best filly she knew, and she would do anything to protect her if something happened. "I love you, too..." They seperated from their hug. Rainbow Dash got up and wiped away the excess tears. "Well, I better get going," Scootaloo said. "Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed. "It's getting late." Scootaloo took her picture with her and exited the room. Rainbow Dash turned around and made her way to her chair. She sat on it and sighed. Scoots is the best filly in the world... Bored, Rainbow Dash opened one of the drawers in her desk to see how much room was in it. She peered inside and raised her brow. A piece of paper? She took the paper out from the desk and closed the drawer. It was slightly crumbled, so Rainbow Dash unravelled the paper and looked to see if there was anything on it. For some reason, there was. It was a small little paragraph with bad mouthwriting, almost like it was written in a hurry. I can't do this anymore. I can't hide the truth anymore. I have to leave... Leave and go somewhere. This is the end of this horrible secret. Somepony has to let it out. But they'll get me if I say anything...What should I do? What can I do? Let some other sap suffer. This is the end of me. Rainbow Dash looked over the paper again and again to see if she was reading the note right. Did Thunder Gust write this? She looked around and put the piece of paper back into the drawer. Maybe she would find Thunder Gust and see why he wrote the note. She got off from her chair and went out the door. She flicked off the lights and exited the building. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 "How does it feel to finally be a Wonderbolt?" Rainbow Dash looked up from her sandwich. She gulped and smiled at her friends across the table. “How do you think it feels? It's awesome!" All five of her friends sat at a table eating sandwiches to celebrate her accomplishment. It was the day after the party and it was especially sunny with clear skies, something that Rainbow Dash has enjoyed for quite a while. She wondered if the weather pegasi was doing her a favour for all her work. "That's great to hear!" Rarity exclaimed. "We are all so proud of you!" "This is so amazing!" Pinkie Pie hopped. "It almost seemed like you were never going to get into the Wonderbolts, especially the main team. Not that I didn't believe in you, it was just because it took a long time to get in there, and now that you're in, it makes it super special!" Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Well, I guess you're right! But you know guys, while it's pretty cool that I'm in the Wonderbolts, I'm also pretty nervous." "Why would you be nervous?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, you see, even though I worked hard for the Wonderbolts, I don't know how I'll measure up to the other team members!" "Ah, don't worry," Applejack cut in. "You can just use that big ego of yours and you'll soar!" "Har har," Rainbow Dash said. "I'm serious, though. They have had years of training, and I'm well, just a newbie." "You'll do fine," Twilight said reassuringly. "All you have to do is work for it. I didn't learn how to fly with these wings in one day. But you taught me how to fly properly, and now look!" Rainbow Dash smiled. "Yeah, you're right, Twilight! Thanks!" "No problem." Rainbow Dash finished her sandwich and belched a loud burp. "Ah! That was good!" Suddenly, Rainbow Dash remembered. That note that was in her desk. She wanted to find Thunder Gust and maybe talk about it a little further. There was something ominous about that note, almost like Thunder was trying to hide something. What did he mean when he said secret? And who was he referring to when he said the next poor sap? "This was great, guys. But I’ve gotta go back to Cloudsdale for a bit." "What for?" Rarity asked. Rainbow Dash tensed. She couldn't tell her friends about the note, could she? No, that would only make them worry. "Uh, well I got to go to my parents. You know they want to see me and stuff." "Okay!" Twilight said. "See ya!" Rainbow launched into the air with shattering speeds on the route to Cloudsdale. She sighed; she didn't like lying to her friends, but she had a feeling that they would be worried about the note. She decided that she would get more information from the source rather than make random assumptions. Making it to Cloudsdale in less than twenty minutes, she landed on a soft cloud and traveled to Thunder Gust's home. Before she knew it, she was at the step of Thunder's house. It was a medium sized house, flourished with nice looking architecture. Since he was a top level Wonderbolt, it only made sense that he would have a moderately luxurious house. Rainbow Dash knocked on the door and calmly waited. She brought the note with her in a brown knapsack from home. She was also there just for a regular visit, maybe strike up a conversation with him about retirement. He was awfully young to retire so soon, but things like this happen often so it was not abnormal. She heard some approaching footsteps beyond the door, until it swung open. With dreary eyes, Thunder Gust answered the door. He wore a small smile at the sight of the new Wonderbolt. "Hey Rainbow Dash, how’s it going?" "It's going pretty well! You mind if I come in?" Thunder Gust moved aside. "Be my guest." Rainbow Dash smiled and went inside. As the door closed behind her, Rainbow studied the inside of the house. She was in a living space, which was relatively simple in structure. There was a chair, a lamp and a bookshelf. Along with that, there was a display case, filled with trophies and medals. He earned a lot during his career, and the amount of awards he received in a such a short span of time was astonishing. "Nice place you got here," Rainbow Dash said, admiring some of the awards. "Why, thank you," Thunder Gust replied. "I really do pride myself in the work that I did over the years." Rainbow Dash turned around to face Thunder. "Yeah, that's awesome!" "Do you want something, maybe some tea or a snack?" Rainbow waved her hoof. "No thanks. I just want to talk." Thunder nodded. "Sure! Take a seat." Rainbow Dash went to one of the foam chairs and made herself comfortable. Thunder Gust laid down on a different chair opposite to Rainbow Dash. Meanwhile, Rainbow was figuring out what to say. Would it be considered normal to bring up a note like this? It looks somewhat ominous when you read it, and she couldn't figure out a reason why Thunder would write a note like that in the first place. "So, what is it that you needed to talk about?" Thunder Gust asked. "Well," Rainbow Dash started, pulling out the crumpled note from her knapsack. "I just wanted to ask a question about something." Thunder Gust raised an eyebrow. "Well, what is it?" Rainbow Dash presented the note in front of him. "This was in your desk when you moved everything away. I was just curious about what it meant." Thunder Gust widened his eyes. Quickly, he nabbed the note right from Rainbow's hoofs and studied it closer. He re-read it several times before glancing back at a mystified Rainbow Dash. "You were not supposed to find this..." he said solemnly. "What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash shrugged. Thunder Gust crumpled the note and threw it into a random trash can. He got out of his seat and walked to the display case. Rainbow Dash darted her eyes around; she had no idea what was going on. Why was Thunder Gust being so weird all of a sudden? "I don't believe this...it was not supposed to be blurted out..." Rainbow Dash got out of her seat. "Thunder, what's wrong? What was the point of that note?" Thunder Gust twirled and pointed strikingly at Rainbow. "You were not supposed to find out about this! Nopony was supposed to!" "Thunder, please calm down! What in Equestria is going on?" Thunder Gust breathed heavily. He sighed and bowed his head. He turned to the display case and stared at all of his achievements, all of the awards that he had won over the years. Rainbow Dash kept her eyes on Thunder; he was acting very strange and she didn't have a good reason why it was so. "I guess I had better tell you. Rainbow Dash, do you really believe in the Wonderbolts?" Rainbow raised her brow, confused by the statement. "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?" Thunder chuckled softly, almost like what she said was wrong. "These awards in this display case are worth nothing to me. Not anymore they are, anyways." "Why? Are you hurting inside or something?" "I suppose I am. But not for the reasons you are thinking about." Rainbow Dash took a step towards him. "Okay, this has gone far enough. You're acting really weird and you're not telling me anything! What is the deal with that note!?" Thunder Gust stood silent. Rainbow Dash huffed; this was getting stranger and stranger. What was with him all of a sudden? Why was he acting so odd? "I can't keep this in me any longer. No longer..." Thunder turned around and walked past Rainbow Dash. He travelled briefly to his bookcase. He pulled out a book half way, and then stopped. A small and frightening whimper came out. Rainbow Dash stared at him with wide eyes. Is-is he crying? "Dear Celestia, why...?" "Thunder? What's wrong?" She took a few steps forward. A single tear dropped to the floor. Suddenly, Thunder collapsed to the ground. "Oh no!" Rainbow cried out. She sprinted to Thunder Gust and tried to pick him up from the floor. Thunder pushed her away, leaving Rainbow Dash to stare at him. Streams of tears like a river fell down his cheek as he sobbed on the ground. Quiet whimpers escaped from his mouth as he wallowed in his sorrow on the ground. They slowly became louder and louder until he was crying at the top of his lungs. Rainbow Dash couldn't stand to see this horrifying sight. She took a step forward, her heart beating fast as she approached the crying Thunder Gust. "Thunder...?" Thunder Gust glanced up at Rainbow and sniffed. "Please... just go away. Take the book and go. I can't do this any longer..." Rainbow looked at the book. She picked it up slowly and put it in her knapsack. She went for the door. She took a final glance at Thunder Gust, his body crumpled as quiet moans escaped from him. She pushed the door open and flew out. Chapter 3The stars twinkled as the blanket of dark night took hold of Cloudsdale and its surrounding city. The air was cool and the breeze was moderate, making it a nice night. However, Rainbow Dash was having trouble sleeping. She laid on her bed and stared up at the ceiling blankly. Her eyes were tired and drowsy and were open halfway. She spread her wings, knowing that she was not going back to sleep anytime soon. She groaned and smacked her lips while scratching her back. Rainbow Dash wasn't only tired, but she was disturbed. The way Thunder Gust collapsed like that was head scratching, to say the least. She couldn't figure out a reason why he acted that way. Wasn't he supposed to be happy? He retired from the Wonderbolts, fully knowing that he would come down as a great flyer. So what was wrong with him? The book. She turned her head to face the wall. Sitting against the wall was a brown knapsack with the book sticking out from its pocket. She bit her lip, then sighed. She got out of her bed and travelled to her knapsack. She pulled out the book and took it back to her bed. She sat down and studied it. There didn't seem to be anything too wrong with it, except there was a lack of a title or a name for it. It was red in colour and it was relatively small in size, possibly holding only a hundred pages. She studied it from front to back and found nothing out of the ordinary. It looked just a regular book, save for the unknown name. Satisfied, she opened the book to the first page. The book smelled musty and the pages were much more brown then regular books. There was nothing on the front page, so she flipped the page. She gasped suddenly. The Wonderbolts Fan Booklet. She remembered this book when she was just a little filly. It was a resource book for fans wanting to know every single detail about the Wonderbolts. It had descriptions of previous Wonderbolt costumes, fan letters, information about all of the Wonderbolts from the entire list spanning from its entire history. She remembered the book so fondly, there was nothing bad about it. Although the book itself was outdated, it still held up to todays standards. Rainbow Dash flipped through the book, looking at what fans had to say and looking at all the fan art. It was truly something that made Rainbow Dash smile as a young foal. But that only raised the question; why was Thunder Gust so shook up about the book? There had to be something wrong with it in order for him to react so badly to it. It was all so confusing and she was way too tired for her to figure it out. She slammed the book and placed it back in to her knapsack. She went back on to her bed and groaned. It was going to be a long night, and she knew it. She wanted to know what was wrong with that book, but what was it? "Alright team, let's go! Let's go!" Rainbow Dash positioned her goggles and leaped off the ground. She immediately flapped and reached a fast speed. The air coursed through her mane and surrounded her face as she flew into the sky. She focused on positioning her body and getting faster. Other Wonderbolts flew alongside her. They nodded to each other and suddenly took a nosedive. Rainbow Dash's mane felt like it was about to ripped off as it waved behind her as she flew her wings harder and harder. She almost reached the ground, then stuck out her legs. She made contact then immediately launched off. She flew straight up and arched her back. She soon found that the world under her was above her as she looped in the sky. Completing the loop, she positioned her body and flew straight through the sky. Through her blurred vision, she could see hoops that zigzagged in position. Following a single file line consisting of Wonderbolts, she leaned left to right and flew across the hoops with expert precision. After the hoops, the Wonderbolts formed into a V formation with Rainbow Dash leading. They gained enough speed that smoke and lightning started to trail behind. Suddenly, they flew up to the sky once again. It was up to Rainbow Dash to keep the group in check, and she knew that she wouldn't fail now. All she could see was blue as she travelled to the ceiling of the sky. She flapped her wings harder and harder, causing her muscles to strain. She kept pushing herself, almost feeling as she had no breath left in her lungs. Soon, she would lean backwards to complete the next loop. I'm going to do it, she thought to herself. This will show that I am Wonderbolt material! Then, all of a sudden, the sky didn't look blue anymore. Its hue turned into a devilish red as all sound escaped from Rainbow Dash's ears. She squinted; what was going on? Why has the sky turned red? Her heart tightened as she struggled to figure out was going on. She looked at the other Wonderbolts that were following her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Rather than the Wonderbolts that she was accustomed, all she saw was bony carcasses flapping their skeleton wings. Their heads were no more than mere skulls with their sockets torn out. It should have been impossible for them to be flying. As they flew, they opened their gaping mouths and shrieked into Rainbow's ears. Rainbow Dash couldn't feel anymore. She couldn't fly anymore and her wings stopped flying. She felt her body dropping to the ground as the red colours consumed her. Her eyes were filled with tears as she screamed her way to the ground. She was helpless as she thrashed her legs through the air, knowing full well that she was about to plummet to her death. Then, her vision turned to black. RaInBoW, a...OkAy? Rainbow Dash felt like her head was stretching in different directions as it writhed in pain. She could suddenly feel the pain surging through her entire body like an electric volt. She could only see blurry blobs as she opened her eyes. Eventually her vision settled as she could see Wonderbolts staring at her in bewilderment. She tried to get up and felt her back wince in pain. "No, Rainbow Dash..." a voice said. "Settle down. You took a hard fall." Rainbow Dash looked up to see Spitfire looking at her perturbed. Spitfire looked at her body and sighed. "Well, it doesn't seem like anything is broken," she said. "But just to be sure, we'll get a doctor to look at your injuries. They look minor at best." Rainbow Dash gazed at Spitfire. "What happened?" Spitfire glanced at Rainbow. "It seems like you got tired and blacked out. It's odd; a flyer like you wouldn't do that..." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh Celestia, I failed..." Spitfire patted Rainbow Dash. "Hey, you're a rookie. You just have to do better, next time." Another pierce of pain tormented Rainbow's body. Spitfire looked at the others. "Get her into the infirmary and patch her up. We have a show in a week and we want to showcase her skills soon." The others nodded and a couple of nurse ponies came to the scene. She was lifted to a stretcher and was taken somewhere. Rainbow Dash wouldn't know that. She blacked out again. Rainbow Dash opened her drowsy eyes. She found that she was in a small room and that she was in a comfortable white bed. There was pillows propped against the back of her head and a blanket kept her warm. It wasn't a regular hospital room; it was only for minor injured flyers to stay for a little bit. She sat up and saw that the pain was almost gone, except for a small pinch. Her wings were sore and her legs felt like they were about to pop off. She saw through a closed window that it was still daytime. She must have been out for not too long. She sighed and wiggled her way into a comfortable position. She didn't understand what happened to her that day. It was so scary and disturbing that it was surreal in a way. The first day of training and this incident happens to her. It was an odd one at best and she never experienced anything like it before. She never hallucinated or suffered strokes or anything, so what happened today? This isn't just a coincidence, she thought to herself. There has to be more to that than this. But how do I tell my friends? It wouldn't be easy for her to tell her friends about the matter. They would worry too much and she didn't want them to get too worked up about it. But it did make her wonder if this means something more, if there was more to the puzzle. But where does she find the pieces? "Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the doorway. A tough looking nurse stared at her with a clip board in hoof. "Oh, hello," Rainbow replied feebly. "Are you feeling alright? Is there something that you might need?" "No, I'm alright." The nurse nodded and started to walk away. Rainbow Dash thought for a moment and gasped. "Wait!" The nurse turned around to face Rainbow Dash again. "Um, could you grab me my knapsack from my room? It's just a small brown knapsack." "Alright." The nurse stepped through the door, leaving Rainbow in the room. She waited patiently for the nurse to arrive, hoping that she left the Wonderbolts book in the knapsack. If it wasn't in there then it was all for nothing. Soon, the nurse came back with the knapsack. She handed it to Rainbow and left the room again. Rainbow Dash opened the knapsack and found the book. She sighed in relief and pulled out the book. She started flipping through the pages, hoping that she would find something like a clue or something odd or out of place. As she flipped through the pages, she sucked in the information that was being told to her. It was odd to look back at the book like she was reading it as a filly. Searching through the pages, she found little to nothing. She was starting to lose hope that the book actually meant something. If that was the truth, why would Thunder Gust give her the book and collapse like the way he did. He wouldn't give her the book for no apparent reason, so she knew there was something about the book. There was also the hallucinations that she had that day. Ever since she has become a Wonderbolt, weird things have happened to her. First Thunder Gust, then the visions? It was becoming more of a problem than something that Rainbow Dash could enjoy. Maybe there was something about the two events that could possibly be connected. But the thing was, what was it? Looking through the book, she realized that there was a separate piece of paper sticking out through the pages of the book. She flipped to the page where the piece of paper was. It fell down to her stomach. Curious, Rainbow Dash picked up the paper. She raised her brow as she saw that there was a message on one of the sides. Go to page 87. You will find the answers there. Rainbow Dash couldn't believe it. The note must have been left by Thunder Gust. He probably knew that Rainbow Dash wouldn't figure out the answers by herself. So he wrote the note himself so he can guide her to something. Rainbow Dash didn't know what to think. She voluntarily flipped to the eighty-seventh page. It was a small article about Spitfire's office. There was a overhead diagram of the entire room with labels, possibly by a true fan of Spitfire. On the other page there was a sketch of the office in great detail. Rainbow Dash already knew what her office looked like, but she searched through both of these pictures. She found nothing at first glance. Then she gasped. There was something at the back of the room, something like a tablet of stone. It was hard to see at first glance, but it was fairly small. It had an odd and eerie glow to it, according to the sketch. It had a symbol in which she couldn't make out, but it looked somewhat like the body of a pony. She was glad that there was something that she could actually work with. But that only raised a ton of questions; what did the tablet mean? Why was it glowing? Most importantly, why did Spitfire have it in her office? It was so confusing that she slammed the book and placed it back into her knapsack. She didn't know symbols or what seemed to be words in a different ancient language, but she knew somepony that could possibly figure that mystery out. But for now, she wanted nothing more than to rest. She had what she needed for now. She leaned back into her pillow and closed her eyes. She would be out of there in maybe a day. She would ask Spitfire about the tablet later, once she had more information. Rainbow Dash fell back into a deep sleep.
Chapter 1If there was ever a better day for Rainbow Dash, she wouldn't know what was. Her throat became tight as she walked up the small steps to the stage. She glanced at the audience; everypony was there for her, smiling with pride. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and her parents along with other Wonderbolt friends watched as Rainbow Dash trotted to the centre of the stage. There waiting for her was the captain of the Wonderbolt team, Spitfire. I did it. I finally made it into the Wonderbolts! The sun shone brightly on the day of the ceremony at the main square of Rainbow Dash's hometown, Cloudsdale. Reporters were there to cover the story of the newest addition to the Wonderbolt team. Not only that, it was reported that she had made it into the main team! With her hard work and determination, it was no wonder she was given this once in a lifetime opportunity. She squealed inside with excitement as she finally came face to face with the Wonderbolt Captain. Spitfire looked long and hard into Rainbow Dash' eyes, almost like she was testing the new pony. Rainbow was waiting for this moment ever since she was a small filly. Beside them facing the audience was a podium with a microphone. Spitfire turned to the stand and spoke into the microphone. "Hello, everypony. This is a very special day. For this is the day that the newest member of our team will be inducted at this ceremony. This young mare has given everything she could to make it into the Wonderbolts. Not only that, she will be now be replacing the retiring member of our main team, Thunder Gust. "She won many competitions as a flyer in her childhood years, and broken more records in our Wonderbolt academy than anypony else. She has faced hardships, and is also one of the Elements of Harmony for Loyalty." Rainbow Dash smirked at the last line. That was sure to seal the fact that she was the real deal; not just some washed up pegasus wannabe who just only wanted to be in the Wonderbolts for fame. As Spitfire spoke, Rainbow Dash tuned her out and scanned the ocean of ponies standing in the audience. She squinted her eyes and tried to find a small filly; somepony so special that she didn't compare to her parents or even her friends. She was looking for her number one fan. "Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow Dash snapped from her thoughts and glanced at Spitfire. "Wuh?" Spitfire pointed to the microphone. "Would you like to say a couple words?" Rainbow Dash blinked a couple times and looked at the audience. Suddenly, she was stabbed with the realization that she had to make a speech. She also realized that she was not the type of pony to actually give a speech in front of a large number of ponies in the same place. Sweat poured down as she felt herself getting hotter by the minute with anxiety. "Um, well," she stammered. "I dunno if I should..." "Hey," Spitfire said, whispering into her ear. "You got something to prove to these ponies here. Tell them that you can do it. It's not like you're lying to them." Rainbow Dash thought about it for a moment, then nodded with a smile. Spitfire returned the gesture and made room for Rainbow Dash to get to the microphone. Her throat tightened again as she made her way to the wooden podium. She scrambled for ideas on what to say. She thought about this moment and planned it all for most of her life, and now she was turning a blank. You're a genius, Rainbow. Before she even knew it, she found herself at the podium, with hundreds of ponies staring at her, waiting for her to say something. The crowd was silent and reporters pointed down their cameras to hear what Rainbow Dash would say. A waterfall of sweat poured down her forehead as she tried to form at least an idea what she was about to say. "Heh, wow," she stuttered. "This is pretty intense." The crowd remained silent. There was a distant cough. Rainbow Dash darted her eyes around and scanned the crowd again. She was messing up already. How could she mess up? She had been waiting for this moment all her life and she couldn't even speak! "Yeah, Rainbow Dash!" She heard a distant voice. She quickly recognized the voice, and instantly found her words. "This is the greatest day of my life. There are so many ponies to thank, but I can only mention a few. I would like to thank my parents for pushing me to the very limit, my very best friends, and my biggest fan in the entire world. You know who you are. Thank you." The moment remained quiet, then broke into hysterics. They stomped on the ground and cheered for the newest addition to the Wonderbolts. Rainbow Dash hastily went off the stage and wiped her brow. She glanced at Spitfire, who nodded reassuringly. She made her way to the podium to say some more words. "The last speaker I would like to bring to the podium is our retiring main member. He has been in service for ten years. However, due to personal reasons, he is now leaving the Wonderbolts in order to pursue other interests. Give it up for Thunder Gust!" Spitfire moved away from the podium to let Thunder Gust through. He was a grey pegasus with a mohawk and had a sturdy build. Rainbow Dash always wondered why he was retiring; he was only thirty and he could still fly like he did before. Rainbow respected his decision, of course, but she was still curious. "My dear fans," Thunder Gust started to say. "It was a great pleasure to perform and compete alongside with this wonderful group known as the Wonderbolts. Even though I am retiring, I believe in the newest member of the group to take the torch and light this group like nopony has ever done before. I wish Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Wonderbolts good luck. Thank you all for the support you have gave me, and more. Thank you." The crowd cheered once again, as a band played and the ceremony closed. "So, Rainbow, you gonna come to the party tonight?" Rainbow Dash perked her ears up. "A party?" Spitfire laughed calmly as the team walked down the streets of Cloudsdale after the ceremony. "Did you really think that was it? That was the formal event; the party is where we really get to have fun." Soarin pushed through the group. "Yeah, we usually have a party for somepony when they become a Wonderbolt. They're really fun, and we just hang out and drink the night away." Rainbow Dash smiled. "Yeah, that sounds great! If there's apple cider, I'm all for it!" Soarin laughed. "Well, we got a lot of that!" "Perfect!" The sun was setting and the moon was rising as they made their way to the Wonderbolts Headquarters. The building, on the outside, looked like a regular office building. Inside, it was the same, decorated with Wonderbolt attire. There were display cases portraying the previous generations of Wonderbolts, wearing the respective uniforms from their era. There was rooms with desks for all of the Wonderbolts so they could do work. The main room was cleared to make room for the party. Streamers were lined up lazily above the guests and a desk was set up for the refreshments and apple cider. A little disco ball was brought out and music boomed out of speakers. The Wonderbolts, wearing nothing but street clothing, danced, talked and drank as the night wore on. Rainbow Dash stood at a corner, talking to nopony. She just grinned and sipped on her apple cider. She never figured that she would be in an event like this. She never thought she would in the Wonderbolts at all! "Hey, squirt!" A voice said, smacking her in the back of her head, making her spill some of her cider. She turned to see Soarin, redder than the sunset as he waved his cup of cider around, spilling it to the floor. "Hey, Soarin," Rainbow Dash said timidly. "Yo, how's it goin? Whatcha doin' all by yourself, man?" Soarin replied drunkenly. "Oh, I don't know," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, I know these guys, but I don't know them. I'm afraid I'll say something stupid." Soarin looked around and cocked his head back to laugh. "Hey, there's no worries. Hey, you know, actually..." "Hey everypony!" Soarin yelled, causing the party goers to look at their direction. "Alright, I wanna make a toast, to our newest member, aight?" The Wonderbolts cheered and slammed their mugs together and drank the cider. Rainbow Dash laughed nervously. She turned to see that Spitfire was coming to Rainbow. She smiled a little bit, thanking Celestia that there was somepony other than a stallion to talk to. "Hey, Rainbow," Spitfire greeted. "How are you enjoying the party?" "I'm doing alright," Rainbow replied. "Hey, didn't you get a mug of cider?" "Me? Nah, I don't drink. I'd rather have water than get a splitting headache." Rainbow chuckled softly. "Yeah, I guess." "Hey. If you're nervous, I can show you around. You're not gonna get anywhere in this team if you don't meet the others." "Yeah, I guess. But what if I say something dumb?" "You impressed me. How hard can it be to impress others?" "Hey, I guess you're right!" Spitfire laughed. "C'mon, let's introduce you to our buddies." The party was over, and the rest of the Wonderbolts had gone home. Before Rainbow Dash could get out the door of the building, Spitfire stopped her. "Hey, wanna see something really cool?" Interested, Rainbow Dash followed Spitfire into one of the rooms. It was dark inside and Rainbow couldn't see anything. Spitfire flicked on the lights, and Rainbow gasped. It was an entire room, just for her. There was a desk with a stack of papers and a bunch of quill pens. There was wallpapers showcasing the Wonderbolts at their finest. It had drawers, a safe, bookshelves and best of all, a commemorative plaque on the wall, displaying Rainbow Dash's achievement of becoming a Wonderbolt. Rainbow Dash sputtered with wide eyes. The sputters stopped as she smiled like a filly at Hearth's Warming Day. "This used to be Thunder Gust's room, but now it's yours. You can do anything you want with it. Go crazy with it." "Oh my Celestia..." Rainbow Dash said quietly. Spitfire smiled warmly and headed out the door. "Tell me when you're finished so the janitor can lock this place up." Rainbow Dash didn't hear any of what Spitfire said. She was too occupied with her new room. An office space. All for me. She felt like she was on the edge of tears, but quickly wiped her eyes so no water would escape. She walked slowly around the room, admiring all of the furniture. The papers, for her. The desk, for her. A small window that she could peer from and look down at the sister town of Ponyville, for her. It was almost unreal that she would get all of this. She knew now that she earned every single piece of that room. Rainbow Dash's ears perked as she heard voices outside her room. She stared at the door as she heard approaching footsteps. A blur of orange and purple popped out from the edge of the door. Rainbow Dash saw a smile. It was the smile of her number one fan. "Rainbow Dash!" "Scoots!" Scootaloo sprinted to Rainbow and pounced on to her body. The two toppled to the floor and laughed as they playfully wrestled for a small moment. Rainbow Dash was very happy that she could see her favourite filly again. Scootaloo got up from Rainbow Dash and they both stood up. "This is the best thing ever! You're a Wonderbolt now!" Rainbow Dash smiled. "Yeah, I totally am." "How does it feel to be one now?" "Take the happiest moment of your life and multiply it by infinity!" Scootaloo widened her smile. "Wow! That must be really happy!" "Yeah, it sure is." Scootaloo's smile dropped and she looked down at the floor. Rainbow noticed and perked up her ears. "Hey, what's wrong, squirt?" Scootaloo sighed. "Well, this means that I won't get to see you much now..." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. The realization struck her like a dagger in the heart. She never thought about it before, but now that the moment has finally come, she realized there would be little time for the small filly. What could she do? She had duties to attend to. She couldn't throw them away because Scootaloo needed training. No, she couldn't abandon Scootaloo like that. She would simply have to take days off to make time for her. The Wonderbolts was important; Scootaloo was even more important. "Hey, don't worry. I'll take days off. Then we can hang out, like we usually do." Scootaloo looked up at her with sorrowful eyes. "Promise?" Rainbow Dash smiled. "Promise." "Yay!" Scootaloo immediately changed her tone and hugged Rainbow. She was caught by surprise, but she returned the hug anyways. Her heartstrings were tugged to the point where they were ripped apart. Rainbow Dash loved the little filly; almost like she was a sister to her. "Oh! I forgot something!" Scootaloo raced out of the room. Rainbow Dash got up and raised her brow. It sounded like a box being dragged across the floor. Sure enough, it was. Scootaloo panted as she stopped. Rainbow Dash looked inside the box and gasped; there were a ton of pictures of her in her signature pose. "What are these?" "They're photos for you to sign!" Rainbow Dash glanced at the photos. There must be hundreds of those! "Do I really have this many fans?" "Why would you not have fans?" Rainbow Dash looked at the pictures. I have fans. Rainbow Dash smiled and took one of the pictures. She went to her desk and got a quill. She scribbled on the picture furiously. Scootaloo tried to look over shoulder, but she couldn't see. Finally, Rainbow Dash turned around and gave the picture to the little filly. She looked at the picture for two seconds before smiling. "Wow! An autograph from Rainbow Dash!" "Yep. Now you can show those kids who's boss." "Yeah! Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon don't have anything as special as this!" "Yeah..." "Hey, Dash?' Rainbow Dash perked up. "What's up?" "I love you." Rainbow Dash's skipped a beat. She said nothing and her eyes grew wide. Tears swelled up in her eyes as she couldn't control her emotions. She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Oh, Scoots..." Rainbow Dash hugged the small filly like she never hugged anypony before. She was too valuable; she did not want anything to happen to her. She wanted to spend every waking moment with her. She was the best filly she knew, and she would do anything to protect her if something happened. "I love you, too..." They seperated from their hug. Rainbow Dash got up and wiped away the excess tears. "Well, I better get going," Scootaloo said. "Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed. "It's getting late." Scootaloo took her picture with her and exited the room. Rainbow Dash turned around and made her way to her chair. She sat on it and sighed. Scoots is the best filly in the world... Bored, Rainbow Dash opened one of the drawers in her desk to see how much room was in it. She peered inside and raised her brow. A piece of paper? She took the paper out from the desk and closed the drawer. It was slightly crumbled, so Rainbow Dash unravelled the paper and looked to see if there was anything on it. For some reason, there was. It was a small little paragraph with bad mouthwriting, almost like it was written in a hurry. I can't do this anymore. I can't hide the truth anymore. I have to leave... Leave and go somewhere. This is the end of this horrible secret. Somepony has to let it out. But they'll get me if I say anything...What should I do? What can I do? Let some other sap suffer. This is the end of me. Rainbow Dash looked over the paper again and again to see if she was reading the note right. Did Thunder Gust write this? She looked around and put the piece of paper back into the drawer. Maybe she would find Thunder Gust and see why he wrote the note. She got off from her chair and went out the door. She flicked off the lights and exited the building.
Chapter 2 Chapter 2 "How does it feel to finally be a Wonderbolt?" Rainbow Dash looked up from her sandwich. She gulped and smiled at her friends across the table. “How do you think it feels? It's awesome!" All five of her friends sat at a table eating sandwiches to celebrate her accomplishment. It was the day after the party and it was especially sunny with clear skies, something that Rainbow Dash has enjoyed for quite a while. She wondered if the weather pegasi was doing her a favour for all her work. "That's great to hear!" Rarity exclaimed. "We are all so proud of you!" "This is so amazing!" Pinkie Pie hopped. "It almost seemed like you were never going to get into the Wonderbolts, especially the main team. Not that I didn't believe in you, it was just because it took a long time to get in there, and now that you're in, it makes it super special!" Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Well, I guess you're right! But you know guys, while it's pretty cool that I'm in the Wonderbolts, I'm also pretty nervous." "Why would you be nervous?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, you see, even though I worked hard for the Wonderbolts, I don't know how I'll measure up to the other team members!" "Ah, don't worry," Applejack cut in. "You can just use that big ego of yours and you'll soar!" "Har har," Rainbow Dash said. "I'm serious, though. They have had years of training, and I'm well, just a newbie." "You'll do fine," Twilight said reassuringly. "All you have to do is work for it. I didn't learn how to fly with these wings in one day. But you taught me how to fly properly, and now look!" Rainbow Dash smiled. "Yeah, you're right, Twilight! Thanks!" "No problem." Rainbow Dash finished her sandwich and belched a loud burp. "Ah! That was good!" Suddenly, Rainbow Dash remembered. That note that was in her desk. She wanted to find Thunder Gust and maybe talk about it a little further. There was something ominous about that note, almost like Thunder was trying to hide something. What did he mean when he said secret? And who was he referring to when he said the next poor sap? "This was great, guys. But I’ve gotta go back to Cloudsdale for a bit." "What for?" Rarity asked. Rainbow Dash tensed. She couldn't tell her friends about the note, could she? No, that would only make them worry. "Uh, well I got to go to my parents. You know they want to see me and stuff." "Okay!" Twilight said. "See ya!" Rainbow launched into the air with shattering speeds on the route to Cloudsdale. She sighed; she didn't like lying to her friends, but she had a feeling that they would be worried about the note. She decided that she would get more information from the source rather than make random assumptions. Making it to Cloudsdale in less than twenty minutes, she landed on a soft cloud and traveled to Thunder Gust's home. Before she knew it, she was at the step of Thunder's house. It was a medium sized house, flourished with nice looking architecture. Since he was a top level Wonderbolt, it only made sense that he would have a moderately luxurious house. Rainbow Dash knocked on the door and calmly waited. She brought the note with her in a brown knapsack from home. She was also there just for a regular visit, maybe strike up a conversation with him about retirement. He was awfully young to retire so soon, but things like this happen often so it was not abnormal. She heard some approaching footsteps beyond the door, until it swung open. With dreary eyes, Thunder Gust answered the door. He wore a small smile at the sight of the new Wonderbolt. "Hey Rainbow Dash, how’s it going?" "It's going pretty well! You mind if I come in?" Thunder Gust moved aside. "Be my guest." Rainbow Dash smiled and went inside. As the door closed behind her, Rainbow studied the inside of the house. She was in a living space, which was relatively simple in structure. There was a chair, a lamp and a bookshelf. Along with that, there was a display case, filled with trophies and medals. He earned a lot during his career, and the amount of awards he received in a such a short span of time was astonishing. "Nice place you got here," Rainbow Dash said, admiring some of the awards. "Why, thank you," Thunder Gust replied. "I really do pride myself in the work that I did over the years." Rainbow Dash turned around to face Thunder. "Yeah, that's awesome!" "Do you want something, maybe some tea or a snack?" Rainbow waved her hoof. "No thanks. I just want to talk." Thunder nodded. "Sure! Take a seat." Rainbow Dash went to one of the foam chairs and made herself comfortable. Thunder Gust laid down on a different chair opposite to Rainbow Dash. Meanwhile, Rainbow was figuring out what to say. Would it be considered normal to bring up a note like this? It looks somewhat ominous when you read it, and she couldn't figure out a reason why Thunder would write a note like that in the first place. "So, what is it that you needed to talk about?" Thunder Gust asked. "Well," Rainbow Dash started, pulling out the crumpled note from her knapsack. "I just wanted to ask a question about something." Thunder Gust raised an eyebrow. "Well, what is it?" Rainbow Dash presented the note in front of him. "This was in your desk when you moved everything away. I was just curious about what it meant." Thunder Gust widened his eyes. Quickly, he nabbed the note right from Rainbow's hoofs and studied it closer. He re-read it several times before glancing back at a mystified Rainbow Dash. "You were not supposed to find this..." he said solemnly. "What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash shrugged. Thunder Gust crumpled the note and threw it into a random trash can. He got out of his seat and walked to the display case. Rainbow Dash darted her eyes around; she had no idea what was going on. Why was Thunder Gust being so weird all of a sudden? "I don't believe this...it was not supposed to be blurted out..." Rainbow Dash got out of her seat. "Thunder, what's wrong? What was the point of that note?" Thunder Gust twirled and pointed strikingly at Rainbow. "You were not supposed to find out about this! Nopony was supposed to!" "Thunder, please calm down! What in Equestria is going on?" Thunder Gust breathed heavily. He sighed and bowed his head. He turned to the display case and stared at all of his achievements, all of the awards that he had won over the years. Rainbow Dash kept her eyes on Thunder; he was acting very strange and she didn't have a good reason why it was so. "I guess I had better tell you. Rainbow Dash, do you really believe in the Wonderbolts?" Rainbow raised her brow, confused by the statement. "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?" Thunder chuckled softly, almost like what she said was wrong. "These awards in this display case are worth nothing to me. Not anymore they are, anyways." "Why? Are you hurting inside or something?" "I suppose I am. But not for the reasons you are thinking about." Rainbow Dash took a step towards him. "Okay, this has gone far enough. You're acting really weird and you're not telling me anything! What is the deal with that note!?" Thunder Gust stood silent. Rainbow Dash huffed; this was getting stranger and stranger. What was with him all of a sudden? Why was he acting so odd? "I can't keep this in me any longer. No longer..." Thunder turned around and walked past Rainbow Dash. He travelled briefly to his bookcase. He pulled out a book half way, and then stopped. A small and frightening whimper came out. Rainbow Dash stared at him with wide eyes. Is-is he crying? "Dear Celestia, why...?" "Thunder? What's wrong?" She took a few steps forward. A single tear dropped to the floor. Suddenly, Thunder collapsed to the ground. "Oh no!" Rainbow cried out. She sprinted to Thunder Gust and tried to pick him up from the floor. Thunder pushed her away, leaving Rainbow Dash to stare at him. Streams of tears like a river fell down his cheek as he sobbed on the ground. Quiet whimpers escaped from his mouth as he wallowed in his sorrow on the ground. They slowly became louder and louder until he was crying at the top of his lungs. Rainbow Dash couldn't stand to see this horrifying sight. She took a step forward, her heart beating fast as she approached the crying Thunder Gust. "Thunder...?" Thunder Gust glanced up at Rainbow and sniffed. "Please... just go away. Take the book and go. I can't do this any longer..." Rainbow looked at the book. She picked it up slowly and put it in her knapsack. She went for the door. She took a final glance at Thunder Gust, his body crumpled as quiet moans escaped from him. She pushed the door open and flew out.
Chapter 3The stars twinkled as the blanket of dark night took hold of Cloudsdale and its surrounding city. The air was cool and the breeze was moderate, making it a nice night. However, Rainbow Dash was having trouble sleeping. She laid on her bed and stared up at the ceiling blankly. Her eyes were tired and drowsy and were open halfway. She spread her wings, knowing that she was not going back to sleep anytime soon. She groaned and smacked her lips while scratching her back. Rainbow Dash wasn't only tired, but she was disturbed. The way Thunder Gust collapsed like that was head scratching, to say the least. She couldn't figure out a reason why he acted that way. Wasn't he supposed to be happy? He retired from the Wonderbolts, fully knowing that he would come down as a great flyer. So what was wrong with him? The book. She turned her head to face the wall. Sitting against the wall was a brown knapsack with the book sticking out from its pocket. She bit her lip, then sighed. She got out of her bed and travelled to her knapsack. She pulled out the book and took it back to her bed. She sat down and studied it. There didn't seem to be anything too wrong with it, except there was a lack of a title or a name for it. It was red in colour and it was relatively small in size, possibly holding only a hundred pages. She studied it from front to back and found nothing out of the ordinary. It looked just a regular book, save for the unknown name. Satisfied, she opened the book to the first page. The book smelled musty and the pages were much more brown then regular books. There was nothing on the front page, so she flipped the page. She gasped suddenly. The Wonderbolts Fan Booklet. She remembered this book when she was just a little filly. It was a resource book for fans wanting to know every single detail about the Wonderbolts. It had descriptions of previous Wonderbolt costumes, fan letters, information about all of the Wonderbolts from the entire list spanning from its entire history. She remembered the book so fondly, there was nothing bad about it. Although the book itself was outdated, it still held up to todays standards. Rainbow Dash flipped through the book, looking at what fans had to say and looking at all the fan art. It was truly something that made Rainbow Dash smile as a young foal. But that only raised the question; why was Thunder Gust so shook up about the book? There had to be something wrong with it in order for him to react so badly to it. It was all so confusing and she was way too tired for her to figure it out. She slammed the book and placed it back in to her knapsack. She went back on to her bed and groaned. It was going to be a long night, and she knew it. She wanted to know what was wrong with that book, but what was it? "Alright team, let's go! Let's go!" Rainbow Dash positioned her goggles and leaped off the ground. She immediately flapped and reached a fast speed. The air coursed through her mane and surrounded her face as she flew into the sky. She focused on positioning her body and getting faster. Other Wonderbolts flew alongside her. They nodded to each other and suddenly took a nosedive. Rainbow Dash's mane felt like it was about to ripped off as it waved behind her as she flew her wings harder and harder. She almost reached the ground, then stuck out her legs. She made contact then immediately launched off. She flew straight up and arched her back. She soon found that the world under her was above her as she looped in the sky. Completing the loop, she positioned her body and flew straight through the sky. Through her blurred vision, she could see hoops that zigzagged in position. Following a single file line consisting of Wonderbolts, she leaned left to right and flew across the hoops with expert precision. After the hoops, the Wonderbolts formed into a V formation with Rainbow Dash leading. They gained enough speed that smoke and lightning started to trail behind. Suddenly, they flew up to the sky once again. It was up to Rainbow Dash to keep the group in check, and she knew that she wouldn't fail now. All she could see was blue as she travelled to the ceiling of the sky. She flapped her wings harder and harder, causing her muscles to strain. She kept pushing herself, almost feeling as she had no breath left in her lungs. Soon, she would lean backwards to complete the next loop. I'm going to do it, she thought to herself. This will show that I am Wonderbolt material! Then, all of a sudden, the sky didn't look blue anymore. Its hue turned into a devilish red as all sound escaped from Rainbow Dash's ears. She squinted; what was going on? Why has the sky turned red? Her heart tightened as she struggled to figure out was going on. She looked at the other Wonderbolts that were following her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Rather than the Wonderbolts that she was accustomed, all she saw was bony carcasses flapping their skeleton wings. Their heads were no more than mere skulls with their sockets torn out. It should have been impossible for them to be flying. As they flew, they opened their gaping mouths and shrieked into Rainbow's ears. Rainbow Dash couldn't feel anymore. She couldn't fly anymore and her wings stopped flying. She felt her body dropping to the ground as the red colours consumed her. Her eyes were filled with tears as she screamed her way to the ground. She was helpless as she thrashed her legs through the air, knowing full well that she was about to plummet to her death. Then, her vision turned to black. RaInBoW, a...OkAy? Rainbow Dash felt like her head was stretching in different directions as it writhed in pain. She could suddenly feel the pain surging through her entire body like an electric volt. She could only see blurry blobs as she opened her eyes. Eventually her vision settled as she could see Wonderbolts staring at her in bewilderment. She tried to get up and felt her back wince in pain. "No, Rainbow Dash..." a voice said. "Settle down. You took a hard fall." Rainbow Dash looked up to see Spitfire looking at her perturbed. Spitfire looked at her body and sighed. "Well, it doesn't seem like anything is broken," she said. "But just to be sure, we'll get a doctor to look at your injuries. They look minor at best." Rainbow Dash gazed at Spitfire. "What happened?" Spitfire glanced at Rainbow. "It seems like you got tired and blacked out. It's odd; a flyer like you wouldn't do that..." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh Celestia, I failed..." Spitfire patted Rainbow Dash. "Hey, you're a rookie. You just have to do better, next time." Another pierce of pain tormented Rainbow's body. Spitfire looked at the others. "Get her into the infirmary and patch her up. We have a show in a week and we want to showcase her skills soon." The others nodded and a couple of nurse ponies came to the scene. She was lifted to a stretcher and was taken somewhere. Rainbow Dash wouldn't know that. She blacked out again. Rainbow Dash opened her drowsy eyes. She found that she was in a small room and that she was in a comfortable white bed. There was pillows propped against the back of her head and a blanket kept her warm. It wasn't a regular hospital room; it was only for minor injured flyers to stay for a little bit. She sat up and saw that the pain was almost gone, except for a small pinch. Her wings were sore and her legs felt like they were about to pop off. She saw through a closed window that it was still daytime. She must have been out for not too long. She sighed and wiggled her way into a comfortable position. She didn't understand what happened to her that day. It was so scary and disturbing that it was surreal in a way. The first day of training and this incident happens to her. It was an odd one at best and she never experienced anything like it before. She never hallucinated or suffered strokes or anything, so what happened today? This isn't just a coincidence, she thought to herself. There has to be more to that than this. But how do I tell my friends? It wouldn't be easy for her to tell her friends about the matter. They would worry too much and she didn't want them to get too worked up about it. But it did make her wonder if this means something more, if there was more to the puzzle. But where does she find the pieces? "Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the doorway. A tough looking nurse stared at her with a clip board in hoof. "Oh, hello," Rainbow replied feebly. "Are you feeling alright? Is there something that you might need?" "No, I'm alright." The nurse nodded and started to walk away. Rainbow Dash thought for a moment and gasped. "Wait!" The nurse turned around to face Rainbow Dash again. "Um, could you grab me my knapsack from my room? It's just a small brown knapsack." "Alright." The nurse stepped through the door, leaving Rainbow in the room. She waited patiently for the nurse to arrive, hoping that she left the Wonderbolts book in the knapsack. If it wasn't in there then it was all for nothing. Soon, the nurse came back with the knapsack. She handed it to Rainbow and left the room again. Rainbow Dash opened the knapsack and found the book. She sighed in relief and pulled out the book. She started flipping through the pages, hoping that she would find something like a clue or something odd or out of place. As she flipped through the pages, she sucked in the information that was being told to her. It was odd to look back at the book like she was reading it as a filly. Searching through the pages, she found little to nothing. She was starting to lose hope that the book actually meant something. If that was the truth, why would Thunder Gust give her the book and collapse like the way he did. He wouldn't give her the book for no apparent reason, so she knew there was something about the book. There was also the hallucinations that she had that day. Ever since she has become a Wonderbolt, weird things have happened to her. First Thunder Gust, then the visions? It was becoming more of a problem than something that Rainbow Dash could enjoy. Maybe there was something about the two events that could possibly be connected. But the thing was, what was it? Looking through the book, she realized that there was a separate piece of paper sticking out through the pages of the book. She flipped to the page where the piece of paper was. It fell down to her stomach. Curious, Rainbow Dash picked up the paper. She raised her brow as she saw that there was a message on one of the sides. Go to page 87. You will find the answers there. Rainbow Dash couldn't believe it. The note must have been left by Thunder Gust. He probably knew that Rainbow Dash wouldn't figure out the answers by herself. So he wrote the note himself so he can guide her to something. Rainbow Dash didn't know what to think. She voluntarily flipped to the eighty-seventh page. It was a small article about Spitfire's office. There was a overhead diagram of the entire room with labels, possibly by a true fan of Spitfire. On the other page there was a sketch of the office in great detail. Rainbow Dash already knew what her office looked like, but she searched through both of these pictures. She found nothing at first glance. Then she gasped. There was something at the back of the room, something like a tablet of stone. It was hard to see at first glance, but it was fairly small. It had an odd and eerie glow to it, according to the sketch. It had a symbol in which she couldn't make out, but it looked somewhat like the body of a pony. She was glad that there was something that she could actually work with. But that only raised a ton of questions; what did the tablet mean? Why was it glowing? Most importantly, why did Spitfire have it in her office? It was so confusing that she slammed the book and placed it back into her knapsack. She didn't know symbols or what seemed to be words in a different ancient language, but she knew somepony that could possibly figure that mystery out. But for now, she wanted nothing more than to rest. She had what she needed for now. She leaned back into her pillow and closed her eyes. She would be out of there in maybe a day. She would ask Spitfire about the tablet later, once she had more information. Rainbow Dash fell back into a deep sleep.
