Camaraderie is Sorcery

Chapter 4:21 – Learning of Legends

Talas peklasi oren Tartharous, der Ixy’clutr’n repis ru tarata var derm’ninevcous hyug, éfe uvdi delis tega eccles talasru kiep. Uvdi yeatz’tivoris var der firmend oren m’uvdi hicous nendlotar var othard der m’ninevcous calet quinestubin mordith sort gangen. Maat ru magigatha magiastrernend morn tagga estabaki, dith eyk wykar’amakdatha var teyat m’uvdi yeatheli klei uvdidelis eccles talas tarthariyan oren der tartharvayi lotar var greshis. Uvdi zind numsenatha dassa ithiliru Faskalamstrom zleth dalirf tresikond jonduriluvdim.

As natives of Tartarus, the [???] pose a complication to the shadow realm’s use, but they may also serve as a(n) answer(?). They naturally flock to the rim(?) of their world and seek to protect the shadow realm’s wholeness(?) by preventing anything from leaving. With a strong enough enchantment and some additional precautions, it should be [???] enough to point(?)redirect their [???] so that they may serve as wardens of the prison we seek to construct. They are numerous enough that even a Great One would have [???] crossing(?) them.

Twilight scratched down her translation as she worked through a tome from Yliiena’s Tower, one that had to do with her binding of the shadow realm of Tartarus. Twilight Sparkle’s knowledge of Old Equestrian was far from complete, so she spent a lot of time consulting other sources and revising her work. It was a long and tedious process, and every time she looked up from her work and saw the stacks of tomes surrounding her, it reminded her of just how much work remained. The alternative, however, would be to let this vast trove of knowledge from the world’s first alicorn go to waste. Twilight could only imagine how devastated she would be if everything she’d gathered in her home was destroyed now that she knew how much Yliiena the First had left behind.

A clattering came from upstairs, followed by the sound of gusting wind. A blizzard had set upon Ponieville (a natural one, thankfully, unrelated to the White Procession’s intervention), and the wind must have blown upon a window or door. Twilight Sparkle dropped her quill and hurried up the stairs from her study to shut the blizzard out and rescue the books and scrolls that were surely being tossed about as a result. When she reached the chamber that led to the laboratory’s upper platform, however, there was already a pony shutting the door and attempting to latch it.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

“Twilight, I hope you don’t mind me letting myself in—”

“I most certainly do!” the sorceress cut her off. “Look at what you’ve done!”

Stacks of books had been toppled, and there was snow scattered across the floor of the chamber. Several scrolls had come unfurled, and a branch had blown in as well, scattering papers.

“Sorry, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash apologized absentmindedly.

“Why did you not just use the front door?” Twilight demanded irately.

“I knocked, but Spike didn’t answer,” the Hunter replied.

Though it was unwelcome, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to Twilight. Since the festivities in the Crystal City, her draconic page had been preoccupied. He’d had a chance to speak with Cadence about Tyrannus, and she’d entrusted the dragonling with her journal of notes taken on the dragons while living as their hostage. Spike had spent the following days poring over them, trying to learn everything he could about where he’d come from. He was particularly fixated on the passages about his father, the dragonlord Ingrirtireth (whom Twilight hoped he wasn’t planning on emulating). She had been too wrapped up in her work to pay any heed to the door—not that she was likely to notice it, since Spike usually attended to visitors. Perhaps she ought to get somepony else to see to things at least part of the time so that Spike could have some freedom for his own pursuits. Maybe Ream or Baldavin could be of assistance, if they’re serious about their desire to help me build a court.

“What was so important that you had to break in from the balcony?” Twilight asked, pulling her attention back to the matter at hoof.

“This!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly as she grabbed a stack of tomes tied into a bundle with twine, a letter stuck at the top. “This was sent to me by the Wonderbolts!”

“They sent you … books?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Yes, there’s been an opening!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly, and Twilight’s eyes widened. As glad as she would be for her friend, she found it hard to believe that she’d gotten a spot in the Wonderbolts. “Not to be a Wonderbolt, of course,” Rainbow Dash put an end to that misinterpretation. “Well, there was—briefly—after Blaze died—killed by a troggoth—I really shouldn’t be celebrating, but … y’know?! It’s the Wonderbolts! Anyway, High Winds took her place, but that means there’s an open spot in the reserve circle! If I get in, then the next time a new Wonderbolt is needed, I’ll be among those considered!”

“I thought that was the point of the Order of the Thorn,” Twilight said dubiously.

“Well, you have to be part of the Thorn before you can be added to the reserve circle,” Dash replied.

“I do not know, Rainbow. It sounds like just another hurdle they want you to jump over for them.”

“It’s not like the Great Hunt, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash tried to calm her worries. “They’re not just dangling the idea of becoming a Wonderbolt in front of me; this is the real deal. It’s not like they’re asking much of me, either. There’s no favor to do for them, they just want to make sure I’m familiar with the Wonderbolts’ history so I understand their culture and can become part of it.”

“So … the books?” Twilight asked.

“Wonderbolt lore,” Rainbow Dash said proudly as she hefted them. “I’m supposed to read them and answer Spitfire’s questions about them when they come through Ponieville in a few days.”

“That is a rather … conventional … trial for the Wonderbolts, is it not?” Twilight asked, though she couldn’t object to an exam after having gone through so many in her youth with Celestia.

“Who cares?” Rainbow Dash proclaimed loudly, “It’ll get me closer to becoming one of them! I have to go study, after I share the news with Pinkamena, Applejack, Rarity—and Fluttershy will be so excited!”

“A-hem!” Twilight loudly cleared her throat as the Hunter stepped toward the balcony doors. “Perhaps you could use the front door this time?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess so,” Rainbow Dash said sheepishly, still unable to wipe the beaming grin from her face.

***

After returning to her home, Rainbow Dash set to her task with gusto. She read through the battered old books that Spitfire had sent her, but it was no smooth process. Up to this point in her life, she’d never read anything like them, other than Hunter bestiaries, which she’d never done very well with. She would reference a bestiary if trying to determine what beast she was fighting or learn more about how to deal with it, but most of the knowledge that had actually stuck with her had been learned or reinforced through experience; what she’d learned from the bestiaries was gone almost as soon as she found it wasn’t applicable to her situation. The tomes of Wonderbolt lore were collections of facts arranged in a not particularly intuitive manner. Rainbow managed to read through them, but when trying to recollect their contents, found she remembered very little that she hadn’t already known before.

She kept at it, determined to memorize what was required to in order to get into the reserve circle. Frustratingly, nothing seemed to work for her, and she only had limited time to learn. In desperation, she returned to Twilight Sparkle, a pony she knew to be an expert on studying and learning, and beseeched her for help. On top of her own already considerable studies, Twilight agreed, and worked through the night with the Wonderbolt books to put together a plan for Rainbow Dash (and learn a bit about the Wonderbolts herself in the process). The next morning when the Hunter returned to Golden Oak’s laboratory, Twilight was ready to tutor her.

“Let us start from the beginning and see what you already know,” Twilight Sparkle began. “Who were the first seven members of the Wonderbolts?”

“That’s easy,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Firefly, Rumbledown, Easyglider, Cirrostratus, Stormbreaker, Calamitus, and Flicker Tail.”

“Good,” Twilight said. “And what unique weapons did each member wield?”

“Firefly’s Woldo, Rumbledown’s Maul, Easyglider’s Rapier, Cirrostratus’s Double-Spear, Stormbreaker’s Chain-Whip, Calamitus’s Scythe, and Flicker Tail’s Shuriken,” Rainbow Dash rattled off the mythical weapons now all collected and possessed by the modern Wonderbolts.

“We can come back to the first Wonderbolts later, since you’re obviously familiar. Let us go to the list of captains. What are the names of the known Wonderbolt captains, in order?” Twilight asked.

“Well, Firefly was the first captain, and Easyglider was his lieutenant, so he’d be the second, then, um …” Rainbow Dash said, struggling to recall.

“Somewhere we can start, then,” Twilight said, consulting her notes and finding the appropriate list transcribed from throughout the Wonderbolt books. “Firefly was succeeded by Easyglider, who was succeeded by Flicker Tail, who was succeeded by Purple Dart, who was succeeded by Eurus Fairmane, who was succeeded by Fairweather, who was succeeded by Fairy Flight, who was succeeded by Silver Lining, who was succeeded by Fluttermore, who was succeeded by Flash, who was succeeded by Downdraft, who was succeeded by Cyclone Tundra, who was succeeded by Lightning Dash, who was succeeded by Wavecrest, who was succeeded by Terminus …”

“Firefly was succeeded by Easyglider, who was succeeded by … Flicker Tail, who was succeeded by … Purple Dart … who was succeeded by …” Rainbow Dash tried to recount the first Wonderbolt captains but came up far short of what Twilight had read.

“Firefly, Easyglider, Flicker Tail, Purple Dart, Eurus Fairmane, Fairweather, Fairy Flight, Silver Lining, Fluttermore, Flash, Downdraft, Cyclone Tundra, Lightning Dash, Wavecrest, Terminus,” Twilight repeated the names of the first fifteen captains.

“Twilight, how am I supposed to remember all these names?” Rainbow Dash protested.

“The Wonderbolts have been around for over eight millennia, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. “The average lifespan of a Wonderbolt captain from promotion to death is under twenty years. There are a lot more names than this you will need to know.”

Rainbow Dash groaned at the enormity and seeming impossibility of the task ahead of her.

***

The two of them kept at it throughout the day, but progress was frustrating, to say the least. Some things Rainbow Dash knew well, but it was mostly what she’d already known before receiving this assignment from the Wonderbolts, picked up from tales shared by other Hunters. Other things, though, she seemed incapable of retaining, at least for more than a few minutes. Twilight Sparkle couldn’t figure out what the difficulty was, but she kept trying and changing her methods in hopes that she’d find something that would allow Rainbow Dash to learn what she needed. As the day came to an end, both Twilight and Rainbow Dash were disappointed with how things had gone.

The other Brave Companions, having caught wind of their friend’s difficulty, tried to pitch in and help out in their own ways the following day. Sadly, they met with no more success than Twilight had in teaching Rainbow Dash the Wonderbolts’ history. They all had learned their trades through experience, only Rarity among them having received a formal tutelage, and that in a practical apprenticeship. None of that was particularly useful for learning the history of the Wonderbolts. Even Pinkamena’s attempt to help Rainbow Dash recollect Wonderbolt history through musical adaptation, though promising at first, fell flat. The melody managed to stick in the Hunter’s mind ... but without any of the accompanying information.

Rainbow Dash’s disappointment in herself and frustration grew immensely with every failed attempt to learn what she needed to achieve her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt. She began to feel at first like she would have to wait much longer, and then like she would never have a chance. She just couldn't learn all the information the Wonderbolts had sent her, which meant she’d never make it into the reserve circle or be seriously considered to become a Wonderbolt herself. She was ready to give up, and left the other Brave Companions to puzzle their next move out amongst themselves while she sought somewhere to be alone.

“Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!” a voice called after her as she flew over Ponieville, and she spotted Scootaloo down below waving her down.

“Hi, Scootaloo,” the Hunter said half-heartedly as she landed before her amid the close-packed buildings.

“Where are you going, Rainbow Dash?” the filly asked.

“Oh … nowhere, I guess,” Rainbow said glumly.

“Then, could you teach me some more?” Scootaloo asked expectantly.

“Teach?” Rainbow Dash said. “Sure, I guess I can do that.”

Since their trip into the Everfree Forest the year before, Rainbow Dash had been trying to fulfill her promise of taking the younger pegasus under her wing. She tried to keep an eye and ear out for Scootaloo, but as unpredictable as her life was as both a Hunter and a Brave Companion, it was most often Scootaloo that approached her and suggested time together. They talked and ate together, getting acquainted with each other, but lately Rainbow Dash had begun some informal training. It wasn’t true Hunter training since neither of them were members of the Order of the Sparrow, and Scootaloo was older than most foals that became Hunters; but Rainbow had been running her through stances and drills, teaching her how to hold and fight with a sword in the Hunter style. Of course, it wasn’t the true Hunter style, since many moves required one to fly, and Scootaloo…

“Great! I’ve been practicing!” Scootaloo said proudly as she led the way toward Rainbow Dash’s training yard.

The two of them cleared away the snow that had accumulated before Scootaloo got to work with the cut-down wooden sword Rainbow Dash had made for her. The Hunter didn’t try to teach her any new moves today, just had her run through old stances, giving advice and corrections as they were needed. It felt good for her to teach another pony, especially since she felt so stupid and unable to learn herself.

“How about a story, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked between swings at the empty air after her trainer had been silent for a good long minute.

“Oh, sure, what about?” Rainbow replied absentmindedly.

“Hmm, the Wonderbolts!” Scootaloo said after thinking for a moment, still practicing swings and stabs.

“Oh,” Rainbow Dash replied, regretting having asked. “Okay, I guess I can do that. Have I told you about Vazd the Tumult before?”

“Nope,” Scootaloo said as she executed the moves she’d been taught.

“Vazd the Tumult was a Hunter during the First Age, one of the first to become a Wonderbolt after the Long Winter. During the White Procession’s first invasion, the order had practically been erased, until Grandmaster Hurricane of the Order of the Aerial Sword charged Bitter Breath with rebuilding the Wonderbolts as captain. Shortly after Vazd had been chosen as a Wonderbolt, he was summoned by all six of Equestria’s Founders, who had a job for him. During the Long Winter, the twin unicorn and pegasus towns of Cant’r Laht and Gladfengel had become overrun by monsters, particularly barghests and almas. The Founders wished to establish the towns as the center of the new Equestria, and they charged Vazd with clearing it out. Vazd the Tumult flew to the Titan’s Horn while the Founders waited below. For forty days, there was no sign of Vazd or indication of what had become of him. Then, bodies began to plummet from the city, crashing against the mountain’s slope or tumbling into Onon’r Laht. For twelve days the rain of bodies continued, and only then did Vazd appear himself. He presented himself to the Founders and declared that the city had been cleansed, as asked, and when they inspected it themselves, they found he had spoken truthfully. Not a single monster nor corpse remained in the ruins of Cant’r Laht and Gladfengel. Vazd the Tumult was richly rewarded by the Founders and later became Bitter Breath’s lieutenant, succeeding her as captain when she died. His greatest hope was to cleanse Onon’r Laht one day as he had the city above, but it was that quest that eventually led him to his death, after which he was succeeded by Razor Petal as Wonderbolt captain.”

“That’s amazing,” Scootaloo said, pausing in her swordwork to rest, her coat steaming with sweat in the chill air. “How you ever cleared out a city?”

“Me, no,” Rainbow said, the momentary joy she’d experienced while telling the tale draining away as she remembered she might never be Wonderbolt material. “There aren’t many cities around these days that have been overrun by monsters so thoroughly, other than in the Everfree. Besides, I don’t think I could do it.”

“Sure you could!” Scootaloo gave her vote of confidence. “There’s going to be all kinds of legends about you someday. There already are!”

“Sure, Scootaloo,” the Hunter laughed as she tousled her mane.

The filly wasn’t wrong about there already being legends about the Hunter, at least ones associated with the Brave Companions. There were some stories about her individually as well, judging by how Scootaloo had heard so many of them before coming to Ponieville. But they weren’t legends about Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash, and she was worried they never would be. Nevertheless, Scootaloo’s words had lifted her spirits a little, something she’d desperately needed.

Twilight Sparkle stayed where she was, hidden from view behind one of the buildings Rainbow Dash’s training yard was built against. She and the others hadn’t gone on too long without realizing that their friend had slunk away in defeat, and she’d gone after her, finding her here tutoring Scootaloo. Twilight had heard Rainbow Dash’s recounting of the tale of Vazd the Tumult, and was intrigued by how her friend had told it and how many details she’d remembered. Perhaps, that’s the way… Twilight left Rainbow Dash to train her adoring fan and embarked on a new mission.

***

“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight called the next day as she rapped her hoof on the Hunter’s door.

Rainbow Dash’s home was far from normal. Located a ways outside of Ponieville, it had been built at the top of a steep-sloped hill that was clearly artificial. To raise it even farther, it was perched on a set of stilts, with a tree growing between them that might one day support the house above, but for now was still quite small. In many ways, it was the exact opposite of Fluttershy’s home, a bright, breezy place above a tree rather than a dark, warm place beneath one, fitting for the two old friends who’d gone in opposite directions after the Order of the Sparrow.

“Hi, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said morosely as she answered the door, forcing Twilight to step back off the narrow landing and use her wings to stay at the Hunter’s level, “I hope you’re not here to try to teach me Wonderbolt history. I’ve accepted that it’s hopeless and I’m never going to learn what I need.”

“That is not what I came to ask you about,” the sorceress replied. “I need some practice flying, and I was hoping you would accompany me.”

“Oh. Okay,” Rainbow Dash said, her ears perking up a bit.

The two of them took to the wintry sky, which was clear for the moment, though approaching clouds might soon bring more snow. Ponieville and the surrounding countryside were still covered in a dense layer of white from the blizzard only a few days prior, the sun glancing off blindingly if the duo looked at it wrong. Twilight, as the one to suggest the flight, determined the route, winging over the countryside vaguely in the direction of the town, and Rainbow Dash followed along. Flight was one of Dash’s greatest pleasures, but her concerns still weighed heavily on her mind and her mood was subdued. Twilight tried to make small talk, without getting much response from her companion, until she felt enough time had passed.

“You know, during my research, I found I story that I think might interest you,” Twilight said nonchalantly.

“Is it about the Wonderbolts?” Rainbow Dash asked dispassionately.

“Actually, it is,” Twilight replied.

“I’m not really in the mood for anything about them,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I think you will enjoy this one,” Twilight pressed.

“Ugh, fine,” Rainbow Dash conceded, before grumbling to herself. “I probably won’t remember it anyway.”

“Well, it is not entirely about the Wonderbolts,” Twilight said. “It is also about Yliiena the First, and her work with the Hunters to imprison the Great Ones in Tartarus. As we saw in her tower, she was instrumental in the creation of the Wonderbolts as a special cadre, and their armor even bears her coloration in her honor. Anyway, they managed to capture many Great Ones together with other Hunters and sorceresses. Yliiena was always the leader of the crusade against the Great Ones, but when she died, she entrusted the task of capturing those remaining to the Wonderbolts. To aid them in their quest, she entrusted the captain of the Wonderbolts—by that time Flicker Tail, as Firefly and Easyglider had already perished—with the Fork of Passage. Yliiena was no Nostracom the Wise, but she did manage to create a small collection of magical artifacts. The Fork of Passage would allow anypony to open the gates to Tartarus in the White Mountains, and she granted it to the Wonderbolts so that they could inter future Great Ones.

“Captain Firefly was never able to use the Fork of Passage, for she was cut down by a bruxa before she could Hunt any Great Ones, but her successor, Captain Purple Dart, did manage to rally Hunters and sorceresses together to capture the Bramble Lord, a Great One who spread throughout the dark places of the land and enslaved ponies with its thorns. In a coordinated attack, thirty orders of Hunters and six cabals of sorceresses spread light to the dark places of Equestria, forcing the Bramble Lord into a corner where the Hunters did battle, severing all its thorns and slaying its slaves until it was naught but shadow, and then forcing it through the gates of Tartarus.

“After Purple Dart, Captain Eurus Fairmane led the capture of two Great Ones: Gorgon and Erebus. The first they battled in the region of the same name on the Eastern Continent, using shields polished to a shine to turn its stone-gaze against it. I know, odd for Hunters to use shields, but they were able to capture Gorgon this way and confine it to Tartarus. Erebus, a creature of cloud, at least in appearance, was vanquished when the Wonderbolts and other Hunters created a cyclone to contain and imprison him in the shadow realm as well.

“Eurus Fairmane’s lieutenant, Fairweather, took over as captain next. The Fork of Passage was passed down to him and he perished using it to defeat the Tyrant of Oth in the skies over the Everfree Forest. The two of them are fabled to have battled for days until Fairweather had run out of all weapons but the Fork of Passage. Stabbing it into the Tyrant’s eye allowed him to be brought down, but Fairweather died to a final swipe from the Tyrant’s claws as he plunged the Fork. The other Hunters present managed to imprison the Tyrant of Oth in Tartarus and retrieved the Fork of Passage, but one of its tines had broken off at the end. It never worked quite as well again as it first had.

“After Fairweather’s death, Fairy Flight became the new captain of the Wonderbolts, but she never used the Fork of Passage other than to check that the Great Ones imprisoned in Tartarus remained there. After she died battling a swarm of ekhidnae, the Fork of Passage passed to Captain Silver Lining. Silver Lining had the insane idea of trying to corral the monsters of the Everfree Forest into Tartarus; common monsters, not Great Ones. He managed to convince enough other Hunter orders to aid the Wonderbolts in the task, but it backfired horribly as the monsters of the Everfree were backed against the White Mountains. The common monsters fought back viciously, killing Captain Silver Lining in the process, and while the gate of Tartarus was opened, the Smooze was allowed to escape. With Silver Lining’s death, the Fork of Passage was lost in the Everfree Forest. His successor, Captain Fluttermore, devoted her time leading the Wonderbolts to first finding the Fork and then defeating the Smooze before it consumed all of the Equestry Valley and much of what is now Applewood and Mareagon.

“Captain Flash received the Fork of Passage after Fluttermore’s death, but never visited Tartarus, as during his time the Wonderbolts were busy fighting off the Warg Invasion of the North. After Flash, Downdraft had the Fork of Passage, but nearly lost it in her wager with the Glassmare. A Great One and a trickster, the Glassmare was incredibly fond of wagers and riddles and Downdraft challenged her to a contest, the fate of Tartarus in the balance. In the end, though the Glassmare attempted to cheat, Downdraft was victorious, and the Glassmare was locked away—though in a cruel twist, Downdraft lost her life as well, the Glassmare getting the last laugh. Downdraft’s lieutenant, Cyclone Tundra, took the Fork of Passage from her body, but never opened Tartarus or confronted any Great Ones, contending with the monsters of White Tail Wood instead.

“Lightning Dash received the Fork of Passage next and put it to use, capturing another Great One during her captaincy. The Nightflame was terrorizing Balte-Maer at the time, and it was Lightning Dash who realized that it was a Great One responsible and not merely ordinary monsters or usual terror and conflict. Gathering the Wonderbolts and three other Hunter orders, as well as a cabal of sorceresses, they managed to slay her physical form and imprison her in Tartarus. Of course, that was only the first time they managed to capture Nightflame. She managed to escape many times before they found a way to keep her from fleeing whenever the gates of Tartarus were opened, and she was quite adept at possessing and impersonating ponies, making it difficult to find her when she did escape. That is another story, though.

“Wavecrest and Terminus, the next two Wonderbolt captains to possess the Fork of Passage, didn’t use it, though Wavecrest did attempt to take down the Great Sphinx, who wisely fled before she could gather a coalition powerful enough to take her down. Terminus fought hordes of amphipteres in Stygra, but never a Great One. His successor, Captain Sunracer, was the last to possess the Fork of Passage. She challenged the Sirens of Trotany Bay with a coalition of Hunters and sorceresses and nearly succeeded, but in a crucial moment of the battle, the Sirens used their powers to confuse the coalition and trick them into turning on each other. The Sirens were able to flee, not to be defeated until the time of Star-Swirl the Bearded, and Captain Sunracer was slain in the battle. When her lieutenant and successor, Thundercross, found her body, the Fork of Passage was gone, lost in the sea and never to be seen again.”

“Never?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Never,” Twilight replied, “Since then, whenever a Great One was captured, a sorceress was required to open Tartarus. Not that many Great Ones remained in Equus after that point. Most of them were captured while Yliiena still lived, and most of the rest were captured by the Wonderbolts while they still had the Fork of Passage.”

“I find that hard to believe, given how often we’ve seen ‘forever lost artifacts’ of Nostracom the Wise pop up,” Rainbow Dash opined.

“Nostracom the Wise died almost four thousand years after Yliiena,” Twilight tried to explain away the Hunter’s skepticism. “But yes, I do see your point that the unlikely or impossible does seem to happen often around us.”

“We defeated a Great One. Well, two, if you count Ahuizotl,” Rainbow Dash mused. “Although neither were sent to Tartarus.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Twilight asked.

“I suppose so,” Rainbow replied, her guard down after the story. “What kind of question?”

“Who were the first fifteen Wonderbolt captains?” Twilight asked, and Rainbow’s face immediately drew down into a frown.

“I don’t know,” she replied, hurt that her friend would remind her of this.

“Humor me, give it a try,” Twilight suggested.

“Fine,” Rainbow Dash groaned. “Firefly was succeeded by Easyglider, who was succeeded by Flicker Tail, who was succeeded by Purple Dart, who was succeeded by Eurus Fairmane, wo was succeeded by Fairweather, who was succeeded by Fairy Flight, who …” Rainbow Dash paused as she realized she’d gotten much farther than she had before, and though she wasn’t speaking them aloud, she was remembering more about the Wonderbolt captains than just their names. “Who was succeeded by Silver Lining—who tried to corral the Everfree into Tartarus—who was succeeded by Fluttermore, who was succeeded by Flash, who was succeeded by Downdraft, who was succeeded by Cyclone Tundra,” she said, her words getting faster and more confident as she went, “Who was succeeded by Lightning Dash, who was succeeded by Wavecrest, who was succeeded by Terminus, who was succeeded by Sunracer, who was succeeded by Thundercross! That’s … seventeen!”

“Well done, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight told her, grinning as she realized her plan had worked.

“But … how?” the Hunter asked, puzzled. “How’d I remember all those names?”

“It is not just the names you remember, is it?” Twilight asked. “I overheard you when you were training Scootaloo, and that is when I realized it. You remember so many details of every tale you have ever heard, every legend of a pegasus hero and every story of Daring Do. Simple data is nothing to you: it is not how you learn and remember things. You need context, to be able to visualize what it is you are hearing or reading. I scoured the Cant’r Laht and Crystal Archives for something I could use in the format of a tale to teach you, and it worked!”

“That’s amazing!” Rainbow Dash said with joy. “So it’s not hopeless after all!”

“It never was. I just had to learn how you learn,” Twilight said. “The Wonderbolts are only a few days away. You still have a lot to get through, and I have a lot of tales to find or write. It is going to be a lot more reading for you than just going through what Spitfire sent you.”

“I’m willing to work hard,” Rainbow Dash promised.

“Good, then let us get to it.”

***

Several days later, the Wonderbolts passed through Ponieville as promised. Rainbow Dash was nervous, as anypony in her position would be. She and Twilight had worked to the last minute, going through the greatly expanded content the Hunter needed to read to retain all the required knowledge of Wonderbolt history. She needn’t have worried, though, as she had little trouble answering most of Spitfire’s questions. Even if she missed a few where there were lapses or gaps in her knowledge, the result on a whole was very positive.

“Impressive,” Spitfire told her after the inquiry was over. “I’ve never heard of a Wonderbolt candidate mastering so much so quickly. Even Soarin got half the captains’ names wrong.”

Soarin snorted as he tucked the stack of books into his saddlebags to be returned to Castle Thorn, Spitfire’s lieutenant used to being the butt of her jokes.

“Well done,” Spitfire praised Rainbow Dash further. “I’d say your position in the reserve circle, and one day the Wonderbolts, is all but secured.”