Ever since being kicked out of the Wonderbolts Academy in disgrace, Lightning Dust had fallen on hard times. Word had spread of her reckless nature and casual indifference to equine life, and few companies would employ her. Those that did rarely kept her on for long, citing "personality conflicts" with her co-workers and employers.

Faced with the prospect of being unemployed and having to drain her savings to survive, Lightning Dust decided to invest her bits in her very own sky taxi--a relatively new trend, short- to medium-range chariots for pegasi who were too tired/drunk to fly home, or earth ponies and unicorns who needed to get somewhere that was hard to reach by train and didn't want to book passage on an airship or use a hot air balloon.

She had been in business for several months when she received an urgent summons in the mail, calling her before the Cloudsdale Department of Chariots, Airships, and General Aviation.

The middle-aged pegasus mare at the service counter accepted her summons letter, rifled through a file, adjusted her spectacles, and frowned. "Yes...we're revoking your sky taxi's operating license."

Lightning Dust stared at her. "What? Why?"

The clerk scowled at her. "Your license number is offensive to other ponies," she said. She slid a photo in front of Lightning Dust, which depicted, albeit slightly blurry, the metal plate bolted to the back of her taxi:

370H55V

"Yeah, so?" Lightning Dust demanded, hooves on her hips.

Wordlessly, the clerk flipped the photo upside down.

"You have thirty days to apply for a new operating license," the clerk said. "After thirty days, if this license is still affixed to your taxi, you'll be arrested and your flight license will be revoked. Have a nice day, ma'am."

Lightning Dust stomped away angrily, scowling. "370H55V," she muttered under her breath.

Author's Note

Inspired by this news item.