It was a bright and sunny summer day in Ponyville, the skies were blue, the air was warm and every pony seemed to be having a wonderful time swimming, sun bathing, and just relaxing.
The main six were at the train station, waiting for the train heading to the Crystal Empire. They were not alone, there were around thirty more ponies in the station also waiting.
“I hope this royal duty isn’t extremely important.” Twilight said a little worried. “I hope I don’t need to fly anywhere. I did just get my wings yesterday after all.”
Rainbow Dash looks at Twilight, then smiles.
“Don’t worry Twilight! In a few days you will be performing awesome stunts in a flash!”
That phrase made Twilight slightly smile.
“I don’t think performing awesome stunts is my main priority at the moment.” Said Twilight giggling.
They saw a train arrive. It was very colourful with three different wagons, the first wagon was white in colour and the windows had golden frames, clearly indicating that it was for first class passengers only. The other two behind it were painted pink with some purple and red paint around the sides and roof. The wheels were all the same shade of blue.
The main six entered the first wagon while the rest of the ponies entered the other two behind them.
The first class wagon was extremely decorated with all types of furniture. There was a crystal table in the centre and four red couches on each side of the wagon. The walls were white and shiny, so was the floor. And they were so clean and sparkly that the ponies were able to see their reflection.
“Oh my goodness!” Rarity said with an open mouth. “Just look at the furniture on this wagon! The windows, the walls, the crystal table… And don’t get me started with the shiny floor!” Said Rarity while hugging the floor. After a few moments, she looked up and saw her friends staring at her with a confused reaction on their faces. “Oh, I mean… to the Crystal Empire!”
The train started to move and the main six started to take their seats. Considering that each couch could hold two ponies each, and there were four couches on each side of the wagon, all of them sat on the same row of couches on one side. Pinkie Pie with Twilight, Rarity with Applejack, and Fluttershy with Rainbow Dash.
Since Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were siting together, Rainbow decided to start a conversation with her.
“So Fluttershy, how are you feeling about this trip?”
“Oh, I am really excited to go to my favourite restaurant and see all of those nice waiters. Too bad Spike couldn’t come.”
“Oh yeah, hey, why didn’t he come?”
“Well, he needed to take care of my animals.”
“Of course.”
Everypony in the wagon started talking and were having a wonderful time.
But, fifteen minutes after the train started, the conductor busted through the door and asked loudly.
“Does anypony know how to fix a broken lever???!!!!”
All of them gasped, but Twilight came to her senses and asked…
“What happened?”
“The brake lever is stuck I can’t move it, do you know how to force it to move with your magic?”
“Forcing the brake lever to move could make it much worse. Some important parts of the train could fall off, breaking the train completely.”
“What do you suggest we do, your Majesty?”
All of the seven ponies thought for a few moments until Rainbow asked Twilight…
“Is there any threat awaiting ahead of us?”
Twilight used her magic to summon a holographic map of Equestria that she memorized before. She concentrated on looking at the map and then gasped.
“Conductor! How fast are we going?
“I don’t know, everything in the conductor room went up in smoke as soon as the lever broke. And it would be a death wish if somepony entered, they might suffocate on the fumes. The only thing I know for sure is that we are going much faster than we are supposed to go normally.”
“Can we make any slight turns?”
“Any slight train movements to the left or to the right in this speed will have enough energy to tip over the train, we would not make it.”
“Why are you asking this Twilight?! What do you see?” Rainbow asked.
“We are about to fall into a cliff if we don’t stop the train in the next 10 minutes!”
There was silence for a few moments in the wagon but Rainbow knew that there was no time to waste.
“I will try to slow down the train, in the meantime, you guys should start counting how many ponies there are on the train. Find a way for the pegasi to fly out of the train while I slow it down. Twilight, sent a telepathic message to Princess Cadence to prepare the pegasi guards to evacuate the remaining ponies out of the train.”
“Wait Rainbow, wait…!” Twilight tried to stop Rainbow but she was already outside the train to try to slow it down. “Do what she says, everypony start counting. Fluttershy and conductor, count the pegasi and tell them to fly out of the train. Pinkie Pie and Applejack, start counting the earth ponies. Rarity, count the unicorns and ask them if they can perform a teleportation spell out of the train, and I will send a telepathic message to Princess Cadence to tell her to prepare the pegasi guards to evacuate the earth and unicorn ponies out of the train.”
“But princess, I am not sure the pegasi can fly out of the train in this speed.” Said the conductor. “It is way too risky, the train speed and wind can catch them off-guard and make them stumble to the ground injuring them badly and maybe even causing death.”
“As Rainbow said she will try her best to slow it down, my guess is that she is going to fly in front of the train to try to push it back while flying the opposite direction. Now everypony, move out!”
All of the ponies in the first class wagon including the conductor started to move to the next wagon.
Rainbow Dash did exactly what Twilight expected her to do. She flew in front of the train then tried to push it backward by flying to the opposite direction.
Rainbow Dash gave it her all but it seemed impossible to do. She managed to slow the train down a bit but it wasn’t slow enough for the guards to get on the train and evacuate the rest of the ponies or for any Pegasus to fly out.
At this point Rainbow Dash is really trying her best to make it run even slower but it still didn’t work. Two minutes passed, she could see the Crystal Empire in the distance with around fifty guards waiting in the train station to prepare the evacuation team.
“Oh no, it’s all over.” Rainbow thought.
Suddenly she saw a Pegasus stallion fly through a thunder cloud. His coat is bright yellow, his mane is of darkest black and so is his tail with a light blue stripe in the interior, that has more or less a shape of a lightning bolt. His cutie mark is three dark clouds with a light blue lightning bolt in the middle.
He was heading to Rainbow Dash’s direction. He flew next to Rainbow and then started to help her, doing the exact same thing she did.
They managed to slow down the train much more than before.
While they were slowing it down, Rainbow Dash did not see many unicorns teleport themselves out of the train and only a few pegasi were able to fly out. She could only guess that the rest of them left on the train were earth ponies, unicorns that were not able to perform a teleportation spell because they’re either too scared to concentrate or too lower ranked to have the ability to do so and, fillies.
The train passed through the Crystal Empire station then all of the guards waiting there suddenly flew to the train. Thanks to the two pegasi slowing down the train, the guards were able to evacuate the earth ponies and unicorns. They also evacuated the fillies.
There were some guards that couldn’t enter the train because of the wind pushing them away or smashing them into the train walls. They fell to the ground but thanks to the armour that they were wearing they were fine but couldn’t continue flying because the speed of the train increased drastically. Only the elite guards were able to evacuate the ponies.
When Rainbow thought it was all over and all the ponies were saved, she turned to the mysterious stallion.
“Thanks, I don’t think none of them would make it out if it weren’t for…”
“Shh!” The stallion interrupted Rainbow mid-sentence. They were still in front of the train trying to push it.
Rainbow looked at him in confusion to why he said that.
“Listen.” The stallion says.
They could hear a faint sobbing coming from one of the carriages. Rainbow then said,
“It’s a filly we must save… Ugh!!!” Her wing bashed into a train sign, she fell down to the ground then disappeared into the distance.
The stallion didn’t seem to care about Rainbow Dash. He didn’t get surprised. He didn’t even look for her when she disappeared from his side. He knew that it would be a waste of time. He needed to concentrate.
The stallion then flew next to the train. He knew it would be extremely hard to rescue the filly since there is nopony to slow the train down for him. He looked in the carriages.
He checked the first class wagon. Nothing.
He peeked through the second wagon window. Nopony.
Then he looked through the last wagon window. He saw a filly sobbing in a corner.
The train was at least going at a speed of 200 km/h.
The main six were the last ones to get out of the train because although Twilight’s teleportation spell was powerful enough to teleport Fluttershy, Pinkie pie, Rarity, Applejack and herself all at once, it took longer than normal to perform it.
When they were finally out of the train they found Rainbow Dash lying down on the ground. All of them approached her and asked if she was okay.
“Filly… still… in the… train...” Rainbow Dash struggled to say.
They could see the train in the distance but they didn’t see any Pegasus holding a filly, they didn’t see anypony at all.
After an eternity of waiting, they now see that the train is just barely visible in the horizon. Then they saw it fall and explode.
There was nothing after that but a giant patch of black smoke.
Even though they didn’t know who the filly was, they still felt like they lost a perfect healthy young life.
Some ponies cried, some were angry and there were even some who fainted at the horror.
Then they saw a black silhouette coming through the smoke, it was the stallion who helped Rainbow Dash. He was carrying the filly!
When he landed, all of the ponies cheered.
He landed with the filly on his back so happy but the stallion’s face didn’t show any emotion. He looked in extreme concentration, almost sad.
He gave the filly to her parents.
“Thank you! Thank you!” Said both of the parents.
“No problem.” Said the stallion still with no show of emotion on his face. He bended to the filly trying to force a little smile. “Next time, be sure to shout help, okay? Crying never solves the problem, trust me, I know.”
“Okay, thanks again mister.”
“You’re welcome.”
When the stallion got right back up, his fake little smile disappeared and he went back to his serious face.
The main six walked up to him.
“Wow that was amazing!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Hey, I never got your name.”
“The name is Thunder Shield. Call me Thunder for short.”
“Thunder Shield?! You mean THE Thunder Shield?! You are fourth in command for the Wonderbolts!!! I am a huge fan! Why didn’t I see you in Ponyville?”
“I was in a mission in Las Pegasus then I needed to go to Saddle Arabia to perform a flight show with the rest of the team.”
Rarity walks up to him.
“I must say, your appearance looks awfully familiar.”
“You made me a Wonderbolt outfit a few years ago. As a matter of fact, I met all of you except Rainbow Dash.” Thunder Shield volunteered to say.
“I met Twilight a few years ago when I was still studying to be a Wonderbolt. She had a library back in Canterlot and I went there to borrow some books to study on.
I also met Applejack a few years ago when I purchased a few apples from her.
Then I met Fluttershy not long ago because she helped me adopt an animal.
And Pinkie Pie, well, who in Ponyville have not met Pinkie Pie?” Thunder still had no happy expression on his face.
“So, tell me, what was your final exam test for your first year at the Wonderbolt academy?” Rainbow Dash asks.
“Listen, if you think I am in the mood for talking, you are dead wrong.” Thunder says with an annoyed face. “It was nice meeting all of you but I got to go.”
“But don’t you want to partyyyyyy???” Pinkie Pie asks with a smile on her face like always.
“I am not one for parties.” Says Thunder right before taking off quick as a bullet.
“What is wrong with him?” Rainbow Dash asks.
“I am sure he was just in a bad mood today.” Twilight responds.
“There aren’t many ponies in the world that just saved 25 other ponies but finishes the day with not one single smile on his face.” Applejack intervenes.
“Well, maybe he was just being himself.” Says Fluttershy.
“Well if himself is straight up grumpy and always bored with no enthusiasm then that is just stupid!” Rainbow Dash bursts.
“Girls, girls!” Twilight intervenes. Everybody went silent. “You don’t know his life. Maybe he is having troubles with something or somepony but we can’t change how he is at the moment. We don’t know him.” The rest agrees. “Now let’s get something to eat, I am famished.”
“There must be a reason to why he is like that.”
Rainbow Dash thought to herself.
“And I am planning to find out.”
Thunder found himself in front of the muffin shop not long after the train accident.
At this point, almost everypony in Ponyville knows about it.
Thunder entered the shop, still with a serious expression on his face. He looked around. The shop was empty; there were no customers which makes sense since it was already 7 P.M... And who would want a muffin at this time?
The only reason Thunder was there was because he didn't have time to eat lunch and it was the closest food shop he could find.
He trotted up to the counter, there was nopony behind it. Thunder rang the bell.
He heard a squeaky but cute voice coming from upstairs.
"I'm commiiiiiing"
A grey Pegasus mare with a yellow mane trotted downstairs. She had seven bubbles as her cutiemark and she was cross-eyed.
"Oh! Hello mister Thunder!" She said with a smile.
"Good evening Derpy, how are you doing?"
"Oh great! Thanks for asking! How was your day so far?"
"It was okay, apart from the accident that just happened."
"What do you mean?" Said Derpy with one eyebrow raised.
It seemed that she didn't know about the big accident. Thunder wasn't surprised; he knew she was a little slow with things.
"Just an accident on the train," Thunder sighed. “don’t worry, it got fixed."
"Oh, well in that case, how may I serve you? Would you like to try some blueberry muffins???" Derpy says while opening her mouth and wings in excitement.
"Yeah sure, three blueberry muffins please."
"Coming right up!" Derpy ducked down to reach the special blueberry muffins and chose the freshest muffins from the batch. She then put them on the counter. "Here you go! Six bits please!"
Thunder put his hoof in his pocket then took out six bits.
"Here you go." Thunder said as he carefully placed the bits on the counter.
"Thank you for coming!"
"No problem." Thunder said with a slight smile on his face.
He grabbed the muffins then placed them on one of the small tables to start feasting.
"Are you sure that there is no other restaurant in sight Twilight? I reeeaaally don't feel like muffins for dinner." Rainbow Dash complained.
"I feel like I am going to starve to death if I don't eat anything tonight Rainbow." Twilight said while patting her stomach.
"Can't you just teleport us to someplace else?
"After teleporting Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, my energy drained. Oh, and I guess that's why all of them got dizzy and needed to go home."
"Fine, I guess a few muffins won't hurt." Rainbow Dash got a little suspicious. "Heeeeeey, how come you’re hungry for dinner so early?"
"I just want to make sure that I am not hungry when I help Colgate unpack all of those toothpastes for her store."
"Oh, okay."
As the two ponies got closer to the muffin shop, Twilight magically opened the door. When they were a few hoofsteps in the shop they noticed the only customer in the shop. It’s Thunder Shield. He had his back on them and was enjoying his delicious muffins.
Rainbow and Twilight looked at his cutiemark to confirm his identity. Then they trotted up to the counter like they didn’t see anypony. Derpy Hooves was waiting behind the counter for their orders.
"Psst, Twilight, this may be our only chance to bond with Thunder." Rainbow whispered.
"Why do you want ME to bond with him too, why don´t you go and do it yourself?" Twilight whispered back.
"It´s clear that he doesn´t like me and might say no if I try to talk to him, but you’re a princess and he can´t say no to you.”
"Fine, but let me make myself crystal clear, I don't want to..."
Twilight and Rainbow kept whispering to each other while Derpy was stuck there clueless as to why they are whispering when she could hear them perfectly well. When Rainbow talked, Derpy turned to Rainbow and when Twilight talked she turned to her. She placed her hooves on her head to indicate that she’s having a small headache and when the whispering continued, she decided to interrupt the two ponies.
"Enough! I know you’re a princess Twilight but pleeease, please, please, please can I get your order? I am not supposed to be open at these hours!"
Both Rainbow and Twilight looked behind them quickly to check if Thunder heard them talking. Thankfully, Derpy's squeaky voice wasn´t loud enough to fill the whole room.
"Then why are you open for him?" Rainbow asked while pointing at Thunder.
"Oh, it's because he’s a good friend of mine." Said Derpy with a smile on her face.
"What?!" Said Twilight and Rainbow at the same time.
"So you’re telling me, your friends with Thunder?" Rainbow asked.
"Yup. Oh, and I am also friends with that green pony, hhhmmm… whats her name?” Derpy offered while she placed a hoof bellow her chin. “Lyra, that´s her name! She sits weirdly though.”
"But how can you be friends with Thunder? He seems like a boring pony."
Derpy frowned, crossed her two front hooves then said.
"I don't know why you think he’s boring, but he’s always been nice to me."
Twilight and Rainbow's jaws dropped.
"We’re wasting our time here!" Twilight realized." Let’s just get some muffins and execute our plan."
Twilight ordered vanilla muffins, Rainbow went for the chocolate. After they paid, both trotted up behind Thunder.
"Good evening Thunder. Do you mind if we sit with you?" Twilight said with a nervous face on.
Thunder turned and looked at Twilight with a confused face.
Her heart was pounding extremely fast because she found herself in such an awkward situation.
Thunder nodded his head. "Sure, your majesty, I don't see why not." Thunder looked behind Twilight and saw Rainbow Dash. Rainbow realized that he was looking at her. All she could muster was a nervous smile. Thunder rolled his eyes then sighed. "And I guess your friend can sit with us too."
Twilight and Rainbow felt relieved. They sat down with Thunder and started talking.
"So Thunder, what does your cutiemark mean?" Rainbow inquired.
"It means that when I fly at a fast enough speed into a thunder cloud, the energy held in it would transfer to my body increasing my adrenaline and the energy of my wings making me fly faster. But I need to choose the cloud carefully. If the cloud is to big the lightning energy inside it will have enough power to kill me."
“That explains why I saw you fly through that cloud during the train incident. Sweeeeeet.” Says Rainbow with a huge fan girl smile on her face.
Even if Thunder may not be the nicest pony in the world, he is still a Wonderbolt and Wonderbolts are always awesome in Rainbow Dash’s book.
“Let’s change the subject.” Twilight intervened. “How long were you living in Ponyville. I heard that most Wonderbolts live in Canterlot.”
“That’s true, I just rented a flat here for my summer holidays. I hate those crowded places."
Is it possible that his personality is like that because he lives in such a horrible place in the district? I must know more. Rainbow thought.
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath.
“So Thunder, where were your born?”
Thunder took a few bites of the muffin.
“Cloudsdale.”
“And why exactly did you move to Canterlot?”
Rainbow Dash noticed that Thunder was biting the muffin faster than before.
“Wonderbolt Military business.”
Thunder managed to finish the second muffin. He started eating the last muffin with huge bites.
“Which school did you go to when you were a kid? There are a lot of schools in Cloudsdale.”
Thunder swallowed a big chunk of muffin in one go.
“It was nice talking to you guys *cough cough* but I got to *cough* go now.” Says Thunder with a nervous tone in his voice almost choking on the muffin he just swallowed.
Thunder flew outside the door into the sky and disappeared behind the clouds.
They galloped outside to see where he went.
“What the hay Rainbow Dash?!”
“Can’t you see it Twilight? He is clearly hiding something!”
“So what if he’s hiding something? Why do you care so much about it?”
“Remember that time when Pinkie Pie tried to make Cranky the donkey feel better? She told us that he wouldn’t tell her why he was so, well, cranky but she didn’t give up on him. She did make him feel better by introducing him to somepony. Exactly who Cranky was looking for. If I am able to make Thunder tell me what’s wrong with him, I am sure that we could help him!”
“I guess you have a point, but why do YOU want to help him?”
“He’s part of the Wonderbolts.” Rainbow said with a big smile on her face.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Really? You know, I thought you would say something like, 'because he is a living thing and I want everypony to be happy'.
"Oh and that reason two of course!" Said Rainbow with a serious face.
"Good."
Rainbow looked at the sun then wiped off some of the sweat that formed on her forehead. “Wow, it sure is hot and sunny today. What time is it?”
Twilight thought for a few seconds and tried to remember the last time she saw a clock, how long ago it was.
Suddenly, Twilight’s expression changed from deep concentration to complete shock. She ran to the muffin shop and scanned the wall for a clock. She found one at the far end… It can’t be…
Rainbow suddenly bursts through the door. “Twilight! What’s wrong?”
Twilight pointed at the clock. Rainbow’s jaw dropped in complete shock.
Its eight o’clock.
Thunder Shield started to fly to Canterlot. He knew that taking the train was to slow and that there was something wrong with the princesses. Being a part of the Wonderbolt Military, it’s his duty to protect them.
He could see below him ponies looking up to the sky worried and confused.
After flying for half an hour he finally arrived at the castle gate still wondering why the sun was not set yet.
There were about twenty-five guards on the walls and tower and about fifty guards on the gate. Some were being sent out to the woods.
Thunder landed and went straight to the guard in command.
“Shining Armour, what’s wrong? Aren’t you supposed to be at the Crystal Empire?”
Shining Armour turned to Thunder.
“Thunder, I was sent here to bring as many troops possible to investigate.”
“Why?”
Shining Armour paused for a moment then took a deep breath.
“The Elements of Harmony have been stolen.”
Thunder’s reaction wasn’t what Shining Armour expected. Thunder’s expression didn’t change one bit.
“Do we have any leads?”
“No but Princess Celestia is trying to summon an Element Tracker. That’s why she couldn’t lower the sun. And with the sun still in the sky princess Luna can’t raise the moon. After she’s done summoning the tracker, she’s going to need two Pegasi to retrieve them. She asked you to be one of them.”
“I can retrieve them by myself, I don’t need company.”
“You don’t have a choice Thunder, princess’s order.”
“Fine, who’s coming with me?”
“She chose a Pegasus named Rainbow Dash, she’s the fastest flier she could find.”
The emotion on Thunders face changed into a grimace. Shining Armour recognized it and asked.
“What’s wrong? Do you know her?”
Thunder sighed. “Yes, I do.”
“How do you know who Rainbow Dash is?”
“Who doesn’t know the only Pegasus in Equestria or even the whole world that can perform a Sonic Rainboom? And she is also the Pegasus who destroyed all of Ponyville when she did that double rainboom thing. Most of the military needed to fix half of Ponyville!”
“Well Ponyville got fixed up quite quickly.”
“Yeah, I guess. So do you know when princess Celestia’s summoning will be done?”
“She is supposed to be done in a few minutes.”
At that very instance, Celestia herself was seen walking outside the castle gate. She looked extremely serious, accompanied by four other guards. When she reached them, all of the guards bowed including Thunder and Shining Armour.
Celestia started to talk with her light and clear voice.
“Shining Armour, I see that you already have Thunder Shield with you.”
“Yes ma’am, Thunder Shield here is ready.”
“Do you have Rainbow Dash with you?”
“No ma’am, Thunder Shield came here on his own volition to investigate what’s happening, that’s why he is a bit early.”
“I will be right back, I just need to send a message to Twilight Sparkle to tell her that…“ Princess Celestia was interrupted by a voice coming from the train station.”
“What’s wrong?! Did something happen to the princesses?!” It’s Twilight, galloping as fast as she could to the castle gate. Rainbow Dash is flying there instead.
Shining Armour put a hoof in front of Twilight.
“It’s ok Twili, the princesses are fine.”
Princess Celestia explained to Twilight and Rainbow Dash what happened.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait! Are you saying that I need to go with Thunder on a special mission to find all of the Elements of Harmony?”
“Yes, I am. I know that you two will be perfect for the job.”
“Can’t the Royal Guards go to retrieve the Elements of Harmony? Or maybe the Wonderbolts Military?”
“I know very well that you and Thunder are the fastest, bravest and most loyal of all of Equestria and we don’t have much time to waste, we need the best of the best.”
“How about Spitfire, or Fleet Foot, or even Soarin?!”
“They are part of the military and they have duties to protect Equestria. If they leave, we will be vulnerable. Thunder is not a high enough rank to be commanding the troops back at the Wonderbolt base which means that he is available for this quest. But he is still one of the best. Do you accept the quest?”
Rainbow was worried, Twilight looked at her confused.
She whispered to Rainbow. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you want to help Thunder everyway you could?”
“Yes I do, but finding all of the Elements of Harmony is a huge responsibility! All of Equestria would rest on my hoofs!”
“Yes it would, but if you don’t do it, there’s a big chance of the mission failing. You need to do this Rainbow. Besides, you don’t see Thunder all worried.”
She turned around to look at Thunder. His expression was that of boredom, his eyes a quarter closed and as always, his face is so serious.
Rainbow panicked, her body trembled, drops of sweat started dripping off her face. After a few seconds of weakness she closed her eyes. She reminded herself that all of her friends need her now. All her friends and all of Equestria. She opened her eyes with a demeanour oozing in confidence. And with her head held up high, she walked up to the princess and bowed. “I accept the quest, your Majesty.”