Tales of the Wonderbolts

1

He stood atop one of the hundreds of clouds blanketing the sky, looking on as the two Sons of Sleipnir wings raided the enemy Equestrian base. His own personal Valkyrie Wing sat behind him, silently awaiting his next command.

Baron’s face was carved from stone as he watched his desperately inexperienced recruits breach the Equestrian airspace; the enemy’s panicking siren was a blissful music to his attuned ears. He noted with amusement a singular pegasus on a direct intercept course, two others far off to the wine-red defender’s right and closing in.

The plan was simple enough: send in two squads of fresh recruits to harass the enemy and gain valuable combat experience, and just as quickly leave. Either the enemy disengages and both sides go back home with a few bloody noses or broken fetlocks; or else the enemy pursues, in which case the recruits will fly underneath a particular cloud, and the Baron himself enters the fray.

His timing couldn’t have been better - the Equestrians were relaxing, leaving only a token defense in the sky. Baron’s two squadrons would easily manage this group, bolstering their shaky morale and giving them the confidence they desperately needed. As a bonus, they’d be able to do it all by themselves, needing no help from the Baron this time. They’d return to Anhalter, brimming with genuine pride and prepared to accept real missions.

He allowed himself a small amount of such pride for his recruits, but no more. Conceit led to delusions of grandeur, which in turn led to blindness. Such arrogant blindness had led his peers to their demise - other captains who believed they were invulnerable. Whole squads had suffered the permanent consequences of a single pony’s folly.

No, he would not fall into the trappings of self-perceived flawlessness which had so recently plagued the others of his nation, including Duchess Amalia herself.

Not for the first time, he wondered why this war had been necessary in the first place. The Duchess Amalia von Anhalter had outwardly slandered Equestria’s Princess Celestia, publicly denouncing her as being a conniving thief, trading Anhalter’s precious ebony for the seemingly endless supply of salt found across Equestria. Anhalter’s own supply of the delicious mineral had long dried up under the tyranny of Duke Ironhoof, whom hoarded it only for himself and his closest companions, declaring it a ‘tax’ on his subjects. Short of civil war, there was nothing the population could have done against Ironhoof’s cruelty.

Much of Anhalter still lay pockmarked with caves where citizens desperately carved out mines in order to locate more; but aside from a few limited veins, nothing was ever found. Extracting salt from the northern Totes Meer Sea was a futile joke. Not enough could ever be produced to satisfy the entire population, whether through magic, machines, or a combination thereof.

It wasn’t until the mad Duke was ousted and replaced that Celestia stepped forward with the offer of trading Equestria’s salt for ebony, a wood as rare to Equestria as the salt was to Anhalter.

For a time, the two nations enjoyed a healthy peace. Art of all forms were shared and even intertwined, ponies from each place would own vacation homes in the other land, and both economies boomed thanks to Bits being universally-accepted currency.

And only a few months ago it all went to hell when Duchess Amalia took over from her father. With the demand for salt being overly satisfied thanks to generous imports from Celestia, Duchess Amalia began to believe there was no longer a reason to share her precious black wood.

Baron frowned at the chain of events, coming back to only one conclusion: greed had twisted the Duchess’ mind. Of course, the Princess retaliated with an air of wounded pride, answering Amalia’s call to battle with her own forces.

The scarlet stallion himself didn’t particularly see Equestria as an enemy, and therefore demanded of his Valkyrie Wing that none of them should ever be killed in battle... but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little fun in the way of bloody scuffles. Today, however, he was confident that his squadron wouldn’t even have to lift a hoof.

Coming up from his train of thought, Baron watched as his two rookie squadrons finally engaged with that single, wine-red stallion.

2

Comet Streak gritted his teeth, rushing straight into the center of the eight incoming pegasi. His plan was simple, if not slightly insane: keep them busy while the fighter squadrons scrambled to get airborne. Starfire and the others would join on him soon, but for now it was all up to him.

He cocked both back legs, flying above the nearest target and blasting out, making contact with the back of the Anhalteri’s head. Sparing no time to see if his attack did any real damage, Comet Streak broke straight up with a swarm of angry enemies trailing him in a threatening spiral.

With a head start from the momentum of both his natural speed and kicking off the hapless pegasus, Comet Streak was too far ahead of his pursuers to pull off a feint maneuver. Instead, he risked diving into a half-loop, aware that if his timing was off even slightly, both Anhalter squadrons would have him in their clutches.

Come on, Captain, he pleaded, all pretenses of idiocy tossed aside as he fell into the icy, blissful state of combat readiness. He bit his lower lip to collect his wits - there was no way he’d be able to bring down all seven remaining pegasi. One or two more, perhaps, but the others would catch on quickly.

His only other option was to keep them on his tail. Unfortunately, they’d cut him off somewhere in this majestic aerial dance. The trick he pulled to outrun Starfire may have been his own special talent, but it had a limit. Once had already stressed his body - for the past few minutes he had been more panting than breathing. Another attempt would likely crush him from the sheer pressure.

Fight or flight, they’d eventually have him.

3

Starfire and Speed Strike burned toward the action, preparing to even the odds for their squadmate. The bronze captain watched as one of the Anhalteri limped away, still leaving his Thunder Chasers at a seven-to-three disadvantage. By now, the base would be at full alert, scrambling the actual fighters to come and take over. Unfortunately, it would take another five minutes for them to get suited up and airborne.

And in battle, five minutes could mean a lifetime.

There was no more time to think as Comet Streak’s backup joined the fray, each knocking down a pony before the enemy group knew what happened. Starfire dodged a hoof aiming for his head, but couldn’t avoid the swift kick immediately afterward, connecting with his gut. He retched and kicked out his own leg, feeling a wing’s fragile bone structure crumble under his hoof with a sickening crunch, followed by a string of Anhalter swears. A shadow blanketed Starfire from behind. He could feel the hard hoof looming ever closer, with no time to dodge it. He twisted in midair, hoping to at least face his aggressor...

… And suddenly the pony was barreled into by a red blur. “You owe me one!” Comet Streak shouted above the commotion, giving his captain a wink.

“You kidding?” Starfire replied with a grin. “Drinks are on me when we’re back on the ground!”

“That might be sooner than we think, Captain. They’re retreating!” Indeed the remaining enemies broke off, helping their injured friends as best they could and taking off back in the direction of Anhalter.

“Hah!” Comet Streak pumped a hoof in the air in a juvenile gesture of victory. “I wasn’t worried for a second.”

“No,” Starfire agreed, a worried look crossing his face. “But I am now...”

“Wha-” Comet Streak followed his captain’s gaze, and suddenly understood. An icy chill ran down his spine as a certain scarlet object drew closer and closer, backed by three others.

Baron was headed straight for them.

4

He frowned, silently watching from his perch as the raid fell apart. The two uncoordinated squadrons had toyed with the single Equestrian for too long, allowing his reinforcements to arrive and level the field. The rookies had felt security in their greater numbers, and as a result were going to be sent back home with their tails between their legs. The Baron made a mental note to reprimand each one individually.

But that was for later.

Valkyrie Wing was poised and ready to fly the very second Baron spread his large wings out. He stood still for a second, letting the gentle breeze tickle his scarlet feathers. With no warning, he lept from the cloud, catching the air and aiming straight toward the Equestrians.

The rest of Valkyrie Wing followed suit, marking Baron’s flowing, sun-yellow scarf as their reference. By now, they had been under his command long enough to understand his body language. Every movement he made had a purpose, and they either quickly learned the signs or were left behind.

Baron set his sights on the interfering Equestrian’s bronze muzzle that stuck out from his ragged suit, identifying the pegasus as someone in relative command.

His mark set, Baron led his Valkyrie Wing once more into battle.

5

Starfire’s heart caught in his throat as he noted Baron’s trajectory - straight ahead, the Anhalter Ace deadlocking his eyes with the Equestrian. The rest of the base would be up in the sky by now, but it’d be far too late - Baron would grind him to a pulp before then, if given the chance.

He had no choice but to fight. Even a legendary Ace wasn’t infallible, although the ever-increasing myth surrounding the scarlet stallion would suggest otherwise.

Starfire waved to his Thunder Chasers, ushering them into formation, and into a battle already lost.

6

Baron burst past his target, pulling up into a steep, rolling vertical climb. At some unseen mark, he pivoted down and shot to Starfire as a scarlet missile, rear legs cocked. Baron could feel the bronze stallion’s tremors as he brushed past, kicking out with both legs.

Only the side of one hoof made contact - Starfire saw the attack coming, and twisted away. Baron fell into a half-loop, righting himself from his upside-down position and rocketing upwards to gain the advantage of altitude once again.

7

Starfire saw through the ploy, and was on the Anhalter pony’s tail, keeping just out of reach of those deadly hooves. Baron swung his rump forward, reversing his wing beats and stopping mid-flight. Starfire over-shot his target, and brought himself around in a tight left circle.

But the Baron’s wings were stronger - he caught up to the Equestrian, keeping relative speed right above him and straddling his target with both back legs, and proceeded box his head from side-to-side.

Starfire tried to shake, jink, dodge - all to no avail. He was caught, and he knew it. He threw a shoulder into Baron’s gut, but the Ace held on. He closed his eyes, but the world continued to spin as a result from the punishment his head was receiving.

He could feel Baron readying for the final blow that would knock him out, but it never came.

8

Baron grunted as he was barrelled in the side by a steel-gray missile, losing his grip on the Equestrian captain and sent sprawling in the sky. Regaining his balance, he flipped right-side-up just in time for his head to catch a pair of steel hooves. Blood trickled out of his mouth; a tooth rattled somewhere.

He swung low, landing his attacker in the gut. The other pony faltered for only a second, but it was all that Baron needed. He turned tail before the Equestrian could recover and continue the barrage, bolting skyward and whistling for his Valkyrie Wing. They reformed gladly - each had their own bruises and nicks to speak of from the surprise reinforcements.

Baron glanced back as Valkyrie Wing flew away, locking eyes with the pony who had attacked him. Clad in a ragged, torn up blue and yellow suit, a coat of steel if his muzzle was any indication, with his mane and tail a noticeably darker shade.

He would learn this pony’s name. And then, he would crush him.

9

“Th... thunder,” Starfire panted, trying to catch his breath. The skirmish was long over by the time the fighter groups had entered, and so were left to escort the weary Thunder Chasers back home. All six of them, Starfire had noted.

They sat on the dirt, panting and heaving. Ci Squadron had run up to check on their escorts - one mare in particular was galloping her way forward, before throwing herself at Speed Strike.

“I’m so glad you’re safe!” Speed Star all but cried, hugging the stallion tightly. Off to the side, Comet Streak felt his face flatten - he had sort of liked the mare, just because she was both shy and spunky. And he had been positive that she liked him all the more.

“Well,” he finally said, sauntering up to Speed Strike and slapping him on the shoulder. “I’m glad you found a marefriend. She’s a real keeper.”

“Wha-?”

“Marefriend?” Speed Star blurted out, almost snickering at the very idea. “Comet, you dope! I’m not his marefriend. He’s my brother!”

“Brother!?” Comet’s head pivoted, unable to process this new information.

“Well duh!” Speed Star giggled. “I thought it was obvious? ‘Speed Star, Speed Strike’. He’s my big brother.”

“And you’re my bigger sister,” Speed Strike said, completing their own special in-joke and ruffling the mare’s mane.

Comet Streak merely sat on the dirt, jaw agape, before he fell backwards, roaring with laughter.

10

“Thunder,” Starfire repeated, finally catching his bearings. The others looked over, noting with some uncertainty the sternness in the Captain’s voice.

“I gave you specific orders,” he began just loud enough for the small group to hear, “to stay behind, no matter what, and defend our consorts.” As if Thunder’s already fragile heart couldn’t take anymore excitement, Starfire suddenly burst into a bright smile.

“And by Celestia am I glad you disobeyed me. Thanks for pulling Baron off of me.”

“I-I-I” Thunder’s face grew pale.

“Not to mention you kicked his flank clear across the moon. Come on, gang! I dunno about you, but I need a shower.”

“You go on ahead, Cap,” Comet Streak said with a sly grin, shifting his eyes over to Speed Star. “I have a mare to tease with my awesomene- OW!” The two groups laughed as, once again, Speed Star decked Comet Streak, sending him straight to the ground.

“Yeah,” he said, picking himself up as the mares walked away, all of them giggling. “She totally digs me.”