Chapters Well, here's my second story. I'm hoping you all like it, as that acronym was hard to make. -FlutterShay
***
The sun rose above the hills, acting as a natural alarm of sorts for the citizens of Ponyville. Fillies were poked out of bed to go to school, as their parents prepared for work. Mail was sent, pastries delivered, reports made, and produce sold, all before the sun reached its peak in the sky.
Yet, through all the commotion, one pony was still in bed. Rainbow Dash lay under the cloud covers in her cloud bed, shielding out all sunlight. The cyan pegasus kept her eyes shut, trying her hardest to rejoin her friends in her dream where they all played in a meadow.
Her attempts were futile though, and her eyes snapped open at the sound of mail going through the mail slot. She climbed out of bed and wandered down the hall of her cloud castle and sifting through the mail. "Junk, junk, junk, Wonderbolts Monthly!" Discarding the rest, she flew over to the couch and sat down.
Wonderbolts Monthly was a magazine all about the Wonderbolts. Interviews, articles, flying tips, and upcoming shows. One show in particular caught her eye.
Next week: Wonderbolts visit Ponyville in a two day event! Bring the whole family! Day one: air show over Ponyville Day two: illustrious air spectacular at pony stadium!
"Yes!" She shouted. This was her chance to see the Wonderbolts again and really prove to them what she's worth! But...with so many ponies, how was she supposed to get some alone time? Rainbow Dash thought about this, but couldn't come up with a suitable answer. She thought long and hard, but to no avail. "I'd better ask Twilight." She thought, then she rushed off to the purple unicorn's home.
***
In a little while, she knocked on the door of the library, one of her closest friends opening it a moment later. "Oh, hi Rainbow Dash, what can I do for you?"
"Twilight, have you heard about the Wonderbolts coming to town?" She asked, stepping inside.
"I was going to tell you today, but the princess sent me tickets for all of us! Was that what you were going to ask?"
The cyan mare could hardly contain her joy. "I was just wondering, what do you think I should do to make them notice me?"
Twilight had heard this question several times over. "Well, like I've said before, just be yourself. They'll probably come and say hello, given that you've saved their lives once or twice. At that point, just tell them your desire to join. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some reshelving to return to."
Rainbow Dash had tried to do that before, but she would always forget what to say in their presence. Before she could argue however, she was already being pushed out the door by Twilight Sparkle. "Just try your best." She said. "You'll be fine."
The week passed, and Rainbow Dash counted down the days until her idols would come to her hometown. Seven...six...five...four...three...two...one... With a day left, Dash could hardly wait. She was outside all day, practicing tricks that she could possibly show to the Wonderbolts, while formulating plans on how to actually get them to watch.
On the first day of their stay, ponies gathered around city hall, waiting for the Wonderbolts to arrive, and the mayor to introduce them. Suddenly, over the treetops they came. Starting as specks but getting closer in a corkscrew pattern. Something caught Dash's eye. On the opposite side, a scraggly pegasus was flying in, a cart strapped to them. An idea crossed her mind.
She was guilty about leaving the show, but the rainbow maned mare took flight, stealthily sneaking behind the flying colt and his cart. It was filled with suitcases, bags, and a large box labeled 'tent'. Checking to see if anyone (especially the stallion) was watching, she slowly eased the tent over the edge of the cart and watched it drop into the everfree forest. The stallion was apparently too exhausted to notice the weight difference, so she zipped straight down, skimmed the top of the Everfree, and rejoined the crowd right as the mayor finished speaking.
***
"What do you mean you lost the tent!?" Spitfire yelled. It had been a long day of performing, and she had been ready to sleep...if the tent had actually been there.
"Miss Spitfire, I don't know how it disappeared! The cart would've had to turn sideways for that to fall out." The stallion cowered.
"Great. Just great." She muttered. "No matter what, the tent is still gone. Where will we sleep now?"
"You could stay at my place!" A voice called behind them, causing the stallion to jump several feet into the air. "I have a home big enough for all of you!"
"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire said, turning to look at her. "That's great news! But, big enough for twelve ponies?"
"Well, I don't have enough beds, but you must have sleeping bags or something and I have enough floor space."
Spitfire grinned. "That's great, Rainbow. Just lead us there. Barley!" She called to the stallion. "Bring the rest of our things!"
Several minutes later, the Wonderbolts were getting accommodated in the mare's home. "Thanks for this. We owe you one." Soarin' said as he rolled out a sleeping bag.
Due to their schedule, the Wonderbolts didn't have time to chat. They all climbed into their sleeping bags and were asleep by 9:00. Sharp.
Rainbow Dash couldn't believe it! The Wonderbolts were in HER house! She couldn't believe her plan had worked. She wandered around her house, barely containing her excitement. Then, under a table, she saw a piece of paper. "Huh." She thought to herself. "One of the Wonderbolts must've dropped this."
She picked up the light blue brochure, and read the cover. She gasped as she read:
Winged Order of National Defense by Equestria's Royalty Banishing Otherworldly Lingering Threats to Society
Dash flipped open the brochure and read the introduction.
What Started the W.O.N.D.E.R.B.O.L.T.S? The W.O.N.D.E.R.B.O.L.T.S, better known as the Wonderbolts, are a secret organization bent on banishing all monsters that escaped during the universal rift thousands of years ago. Disguised as a simple flying team, the Wonderbolts use agility and logic to assist the royal family in the banishment (and in some cases, imprisonment) of otherworldly beings. WARNING: Do NOT let the information in this booklet get into the wrong hooves. This information could mean the end of the world.
She stopped reading. Her heroes were part of a secret organization? They were agents? She couldn't believe it! That was so totally awesome! But then her face fell. What would they do to her if they found out she knew? Would they wipe her memory? Would they kill her?
Upon hearing a Wonderbolt stirring in the next room, she fled back to her own bed and fell asleep. Her dreams laced with murderers, high tech equipment, and espionage.
***
"Thanks a lot, Dash. You rock." Spitfire said in the morning as they packed up.
"Anytime. Feel free to come back soon!" The cyan pegasus waved as they left. She left the cloud home as well and flew to the stadium.
Ponyville stadium was packed, yet Dash and her friends had front row seats; front row meaning a raised pillar towering over all over seats. She leaned over to Pinkie Pie and whispered "Pinkie! You'll never guess who was at my house last night!" Suddenly, the lights went out, all except for a spotlight falling on one pony in the center.
The unicorn magically lifted a microphone to his lips. "Hello Ponyville! Are you ready to see some action?" The crowd cheered. "I said, ARE YOU READY TO SEE SOME ACTION?" The crowd went wild, cheering and stamping their hooves. "That's more like it! Now, here they are! The Wonderbolts!"
The lights returned as above him, twelve ponies zoomed by, mere feet above the heads of Rainbow Dash and her friends. They turned in midair, zooming past them again before joining hooves and floating down onto the stage. The show went on for an hour, getting more elaborate with each passing trick. Finally, the last trick arrived. The stadium had been filled with a crisscross of wires sticking out in every direction. A stallion who Rainbow Dash could recognize as Barley the luggage pony flew overhead and set the wires on fire, earning a collective gasp from the crowd. The Wonderbolts lined up and set off, flying through with graceful ease. Upon reaching the other side, the spotlight returned and shone on Spitfire. She had placed a blindfold over her own eyes, and then was lifted upside down by her legs, by two stallions.
They carried her above the still burning wires, and let go. Screams could be heard from some ponies in the crowd as she fell. She was calm, not moving, just passing by the wires, missing every one of them, before being caught by two mares waiting below the wires. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered as the Wonderbolts took a bow.
***
When grabbed by the arm and the other is free, locate the central nerve point where the attacker's legbone meets their hoof. Rap this point sharply. Given that this point is sensitive, the attacker will loosen their grip. Use this moment to pull away and use their outstretched arm to your advantage. (See page 4)
Rainbow Dash was reading the brochure intently. So intently, in fact, that she didn't hear someone come in.
Soarin' walked down the hall of the cyan mare's home. Why had he been so stupid to lose that brochure? He couldn't believe he could be that incompetent after years of training as a spy! He rounded the corner and saw a light coming from a partially opened door. He looked inside and supressed a gasp. Rainbow Dash was reading it!
He opened the door, causing the mare to jump. "Soarin'? What are you doing here?" She asked, sliding the brochure under her pillow.
"Oh, just looking for something I forgot here. I apologise for not knocking, but it's very important I get it back. I've been frantic about it!"
"What is it?"
He had been prepared for this question. "My diary." He shrugged. "I thought I saw you reading it as I came in."
"No I wasn't, I was reading a brochure!" Sweat was rolling down her forehead.
"A brochure?" He asked, pleased he was getting to her. "What about?"
"Um..." Dash searched for an answer. "Flight camp."
"Flight camp. Isn't that for fillies?" He inquired, unmoved.
"Yeah, it is! I found a box of flight camp memorabilia in my...basement, and I... brought it back up to look at!"
"You don't have a basement, Rainbow. You live in a cloud house." He said, walking forwards. "I now know you're a terrible liar. Just tell me the truth."
"Fine!" She yelled. "I read your brochure! I know about the secret organization!"
Now standing next to where she sat, Soarin' grinned. "Thanks for coming clean. Now, I apologize for what I'm about to do. It's all standard protocol." With that, he pressed a chemical filled rag to her mouth and nose, changing her confused expression into one of calmness as she slumped over, unconscious.
A stallion walked through the halls, sometimes a pony would rush by, but mostly he was left to his thoughts. Thoughts like "How will this end?" and "Was ordering Soarin' to clean all the latrines really enough for exposing our secrets?" The tan pegasus walked in silence, his brown tail dragging against the ground ever so slightly as he went.
Every pony who saw Rapidfire knew that he was built for flying rather than walking, and the cheif Wonderbolt resented the fact that the ceilings in the headquarters were so low. After joining the elite team of fliers decades before, he swore his life to Celestia and to protecting the knowledge of the true mission of the Wonderbolts. And yet, now a rookie has revealed the existence to an overexcited fan and now HE was sent to interrogate her.
Reaching the door to the interrogation room, he sighed and pushed open the door.
***
Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes, expecting to be back in her own bed. Instead, you can imagine her surprise to be in a small room, seated in a chair while an old stallion glared at her. "Where am I and what do you want from me? I have the right to remain silent! Get me a lawyer!" She yelled as she attempted to get out of the chair, only to take a hoof to the gut and plop back into the chair.
"Shut up. I'll ask the questions here." He said as he walked closer to her. "I'll start out simple: did you, or did you not read the W.O.N.D.E.R.B.O.L.T.S secret information?"
"Er...yes." Dash said as she looked around the room. It was empty, except for a scary looking skull mounted on the wall. She decided it was wise to stay on this stallion's good side.
"All right." He said, starting to pace. "And did you read it all?"
"Y-yes."
"How much do you remember?"
"I don't know."
He stopped pacing and glared at her once more. "Do you realize how big this is? The secret of the W.O.N.D.E.R.B.O.L.T.S has been kept secret since it was founded. This organization is older than the ages of every living pegasus in Equestria combined! Anyway, obviously ponies have stumbled across us in the past. Do you know what we do with them?"
"No...sir."
"We wipe their memories completely. It's a shame that we have to ruin their lives that way, but it's for the greater good of Equestria."
"Wait..." Rainbow Dash interrupted. "You're going to erase my memories!? This has to be a joke!"
"Sorry, miss. It's standard protocol. Don't worry. We'll set you up in Trottingham with a nice backstory." He said, and Rainbow Dash though she saw a flicker of grief flash in his eyes. But if there was, it was gone too soon to know.
Her thoughts shifted to frantically find anything that would save her from this fate. "Can't you make exceptions? I mean, I'm a fast flier! I could join you guys!"
He dismissed the idea with a wave of a hoof. "If I had a bit for every time I heard that."
"Ok, well...I promise I won't tell anypony! I'll keep it a secret for my whole life!"
"Even Celestia wouldn't be able to keep a secret that big safe if a mind spell catches her unawares."
"Well I'll-wait...Celestia? She founded this organization, didn't she?"
He looked at her with faint curiosity. "Yes, why?"
She grinned. She was getting somewhere. "Well, I don't think Celestia would be very happy if you cleared the memory of an Element of Harmony and sent her away from her friends, would she?"
Rapidfire gasped. His thoughts trailed back to a summer day, where he had been on a visit to Canterlot. It was a standard visit, yet as he walked through the halls, he saw something that had caught his eye. A stained glass window, showing seven ponies, one of which he recognised as Nightmare Moon.
Later, he had discovered that the other six were the 'Elements of Harmony,' and they resided in Ponyville. How could he have been so stupid? He should've recognised this pony above all others. It's not often you see a rainbow mane. "Element of Harmony!? Are you bucking kidding me?" He walked over to the wall and pressed the button on a small intercom. "Did ANYPONY know that the mare was a bucking ELEMENT OF HARMONY!?" Rainbow Dash smiled as she relaxed in her chair. His skin was turning red underneath his coat. Several minutes of yelling later, he slowly turned to her. "Well miss Dash, it looks like we only have one option. Welcome to the Wonderbolts."
The cheer could be heard from miles away.
Hello there! And welcome to a long-ish chapter!
"Now Miss Dash, the first order of business is getting you registered as a full Wonderbolt. It would be illegal to let you in on any classified information before that point." Well, any MORE classified information. Rapidfire thought bitterly. Walking through the halls with the cyan mare at his side, he could see the bounce in her step and the look of joy on her face. He was curious about how she would perform...not how well she could fly, as he already knew she was a first rate flier. No. He wondered how well she would focus on the task at hand. The fact that she was spouting questions about flying manuvers certainly wasn't boosting his confidence.
Finally, they reached the end of the hallway. There were two doors: one led to the registration room, the other led to the rest of W.O.N.D.E.R.B.O.L.T.S headquarters. Inside the registration room, an overweight, curly maned, green unicorn sat at a desk, small spectacles perched on the bridge of her nose. "Hello there!" She beamed. "You must be Rainbow Dash! May I call you Rainy?"
"I prefer Dash." She replied, trying to control the edge in her voice. This mare just met her, yet she had single hoofedly found the most annoying nickname for Rainbow that she could think of.
"Well Dash," She chirped, searching for papers under her desk. "You must be awfully skilled to be joining the Wonderbolts!"
Rainbow Dash smirked. "Well I don't mean to brag, but..."
Rapidfire found himself to be disliking the mare more and more every second he was in her presence. A true member of the W.O.N.D.E.R.B.O.L.T.S. elite was to be truthful! "Could you hurry it up with the papers, Jubilee?"
"Oh Rapidfire, you're no fun." She said with a giggle that was quite unexpected for a mare her size. Finding what she had been looking for, she dropped a stack of papers on the desk. "Just skim over this and sign where needed, Rainy."
"RAINBOW DASH." She muttered under her breath as she picked up a pen and flipped through. "Let's see...no telling, blah blah blah...listen to your peers, blah blah blah..." Signing wherever needed, she pushed the contract back to Jubilee. "Now, do I get a uniform yet?"
"Just hang on." Rapidfire said. "You still have more to go in order to join. Follow me." He led her through a door to the right of Jubilee.
"See you later, Rainy!" The unicorn called as the two left.
Once the door closed behind them, Dash turned to the stallion. "Do ponies join that often?" Following the colt shaking his head NO, she replied "Then what does Jubilee do all day?"
"Well, Jubilee is head secretary. She keeps tabs on all 'Bolts, enemies, and so on." In her mind, Rainbow Dash had a fleeting image of a file labled RAINY. She blushed at the thought. "Now Miss Dash, the next step is to acquire all information about you that we can. It helps us make good excuses for your absences from everyday life."
"Wait...isn't that what the public flight team is for?"
"Would you believe it if somepony told you they were going on a seven month Wonderbolts tour?"
"Seven months!?"
"We never know how long missions will be. Now take a seat."
She sat in a chair not unlike the one she had regained consciousness in hours ago. Rainbow Dash didn't know how long she sat there, telling about her childhood, flight school, and her time in Ponyville. Several times she was asked to back up to say things like the exact appearances of friends, date of birth, and the times she has seen Princess Celestia.
Finally, Rapidfire closed his notebook. "All right. I believe I have enough information. Follow me." He walked towards the door they had entered.
"Hello again Rainy!" Jubilee twittered as they passed by her to go into another room.
"It's Rainbow Dash!" She yelled over her shoulder as they walked through.
"You might as well give up now." Rapidfire sighed. "Once she's got a nickname for you, you're stuck with it. It took countless years of threatening legal action to get her to stop calling me Rabbitfire." He cringed at the memory. The first time he had met her, he had a stuffed up nose and couldn't pronounce Ps. When Jubilee discovered his real name, she chose to call him Rabbitfire anyway on account of that it was "more adorable."
Looking around, the mare took in her surroundings. The walls were metal with many shelves holding many boxes. She figured it was a supply room of sorts. A pony stood waiting for them, and Rainbow Dash was sure she had seen him somewhere before...
"Evening Barley." Rapidfire grinned, walking towards the skinny pegasus to shake hooves.
"Hey Rapid. Is this the new recruit?" He turned towards Dash, and she realized that this was the pony dragging the cart yesterday. Yesterday? It seemed like ages ago, but in reality, it truly was yesterday. Or the day before, depending on how long she was out.
"Yep. Pretty lucky too. She was caught reading a W.O.N.D.E.R.B.O.L.T.S. informational booklet. If it wasn't for her standing with Celestia, she'd be heading off to Fillydelphia right now with a purple coat, blue mane, a blueberry tattooed onto her flank, and the name Berry Haze." The cyan pegasus shuddered at the thought. "Anyway, she's all checked out."
"All right then. If you'll accompany me, Miss. He flicked his sandy tail in indication that she should follow. "Now, this is supply room C. Pretty basic stuff is stored here, uniforms, matches, blankets, dried food...you can get stuff from here anytime. But, you need to input your hoof signatures to access rooms like this." He held out a small square box. "Please put your hoof in here." Following his instructions, she was greeted with a sharp flash of pain that quickly subsided. "Good. Now the other one." She lifted her other front leg and was greeted with the same pain. "Nice. Now for the moment you've probably been waiting for."
He led her to a large wardrobe, and slid oped the door. Inside, there hung rows upon rows of Wonderbolts uniforms. "Now...I'll have to find your size." He searched the row, finally pulling out one suit. "Try it on."
She took the outfit and proceeded to put it on, trying her hardest not to cry on her first day there. On this day, her dream had become a reality. She had known about it for a while now, but the true realization hit her full force as soon as she felt the aerodynamic fabric against her skin.
Barley broke this moment by casually saying "You know, I saw you flying away after you knocked the tent off the cart."
"You did?"
"I'm a secret agent. Sure, I have to give you credit for being quiet, but flying over the Everfree? It was basically every color of the rainbow against a wall of green. How could I miss it?"
"Well...why didn't you tell?"
"Believe it or not, I'm at a higher rank than Spitfire. Yet she had been bossing me around during the entire trip. A stallion deserves his fun, doesn't he?" He laughed, then his face grew serious. "Don't tell her I said that though, she'd have my head."
"Sure." She looked in a nearby mirror, taking in the view of herself in uniform. "How often do I get to wear this?"
"Whenever you're on duty, but out of headquarters. It's a lot easier to explain why you're in the middle of nowhere in one of these than in a high tech battlesuit." He replied with a wink. "Now, take it off and I'll show you the rest of W.O.N.D.E.R.B.O.L.T.S."
Reluctantly, she removed her suit, folding it carefully and placing it on her back. She saw that Rapidfire wasn't there. "Where's Rapidfire?" She asked.
"Oh, he must've snuck off while we were talking. You'll see him around."
With that, the two ponies exited the room, passed Jubilee, (Hello Barley! Hello Rainy!") and went off to see headquarters.
"Now, the W.O.N.D.E.R.B.O.L.T.S. headquarters consists of all types of pony, winged or not. And even if you do have wings, that doesn't mean you're joining the main flyers." Barley said as the two walked down the hallway. "But you, Rainbow Dash, should consider yourself lucky. You don't have to go through years of training to be with the Wonderbolts."
"Oh believe me. I have." She replied coolly, thinking of the countless hours spent exercising around her home.
"Well, I think you should be introduced to the team." The stallion said as he opened a door. Inside, multiple ponies were sitting around, and waved as the pair walked in.
A curly maned grey stallion rose from his plush seat to greet them. "You must be Rainbow Dash, right? We bunked at your place a 'coupla days ago?"
"Yes!" She said, trying to manage the squeal of excitement in her voice. "And you're Silver Lining, right?"
"Why yes! Yes I am. I'm surprised you know of me right off the bat. Usually it's Spitfire and Soarin' who get all the attention."
"Really?" Spitfire asked. "I'm sure LOADS of ponies have heard of you, Silver."
"Not really. Half the ponies I see don't recognize me as a Wonderbolt. One mare even looked at me funny and asked me why I was wearing a costume!" He huffed and sat down again.
"Strange." A blue maned, yellow coated mare said. "I'd expect ALL the pretty mares to be following you down the street, and they'd swoon head over hooves once you started talking about the latest Guards and Griffins tournament."
"Well that's mordant." A yellow maned mare replied.
Silver Lining glared at the two. "Be quiet Misty." He said, pointing at the yellow and blue mare. "G&G is awesome. And for you, Surprise." He turned to the yellow and white mare. "I've said to you a million times, can you speak a language we ponies could understand?"
Rainbow Dash was so focused on the arguing between the the ponies that she jumped as a hoof tapped her shoulder. An orange and white maned colt grinned at her. "Don't mind them. Silver and Misty could go on like this for hours. The name's Fire Streak. I hope you enjoy your time here."
"Nice to meet ya." She said. "Now, what usually goes on around here?"
Fire Streak shrugged. "Loads. When we're not training for aerial shows, we're getting up to date on the biggest threats in Equestria at the time."
"Like what?"
"Well..." The cream colored stallion motioned to a blue mare with a white mane. "Hey Fleetfoot! Should we catch the newbie up on the secret information?"
The mare walked over. "Sure. I'll fill her in, and in the meantime, could you try to reason with Misty and silver over there? I think they'll start dealing blows pretty soon."
"All right Fleet." He said walking away.
"Fleetfoot?" Rainbow Dash said excitedly. THE Fleetfoot was talking with her! "So...how was your last race in Cloudsdale?"
"Eh...first place. But that doesn't matter right now. I need to tell you about the universal rift. Now...it all started when Celestia banished Nightmare to the Moon..."
***
"You shall not do this!" Nightmare Moon was surrounded in a cloud of yellow aura, Princess Celestia next to her, cuts and bruises adorning her body. She was straining to keep the equally magical alicorn in place. "You wouldn't do this to your own sister!"
"You're...not...my...SISTER!" Celestia shouted. Her horn glowed brighter as she tapped into every ounce of magical power she had in her body. The yellow circle surrounding the dark pony became misshapen as it stretched and elongated, until it became a passage to the sky.
Like an elevator, what once was Princess Luna was lifted into the sky, getting nearer and nearer to the moon. But suddenly, there was a deafening boom as Nightmare Moon punctured the atmosphere like paper.
Celestia gazed on in wonder as balls of light, varying in size, flew in through the hole and floated to the distant hills. Finally, the dark Luna reached the moon and she moved the focus of her magic.
As the beam highlighted the hole, the sky turned yellow as her magic was illuminated. The Princess gasped. All around her was some...material that surrounded the Earth in an invisible shell. One of the balls floated down to her hooves, glowing bright blue. As it hit the ground, the glow subsided to reveal what would soon be known as a ladybug. It crawled upon her hoof, as another ball came to Earth to reveal a griffin. It quickly turned tail and fled, flying away over the treetops.
"This is quite interesting." She thought, before several glowing balls landed miles away. They dimmed to reveal ponies. Green ponies. Ponies with rotting flesh. "Oh dear." She said to herself as the ponies started walking around. She turned back to the hole, which would become known as the universal rift. Once again using all her strength, she miraculously was able to seal the gap.
After defeating the zombie horde, she set to work having her scientists map the different species to appear on Earth. Among species like dragons, fish, worms, and bunnies, she was shocked to discover that singular creatures appeared. Creatures that were one of a kind like the sea serpent, kraken, and flamingobear. (It died shortly after its discovery.)
She turned to her head soldier. "Spread word of the new races. But do NOT tell them of the singular creatures without my word." He nodded and left, leaving her to her thoughts.
"Some of these creatures are dangerous." She thought. But what to do? An idea struck her. A defense team! Yes. A team of elite ponies to fight those who cause extreme danger, as long as the public doesn't know of their existence. But how to hide THEIR existence? She looked outside just as a grey pegasus flew by. Of course. A simple flying team.
Pulling out a spare piece of parchment, she wrote down one word.
Well, hello there! I'm back! Sorry about the wait, but I'm finally back, and in this chapter, you'll see the story's antagonist! DUN DUN DUUUN
***
"So let me get this straight...the Wonderbolts fight magical thousand-year-old creatures...that pose a threat to Equestria?"
"Pretty much." The mare shrugged.
"Like what?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well..." Fleetfoot paused. "A month ago we had to put some special frogs in captivity because they were releasing toxic gases. Pretty boring, but boring is safe. A year ago, we lost Frills to a hydra. Rest her soul."
Dash sputtered. "Frills!? But I heard she went into retirement!"
"Yeah. It's funny how things like that go." The white haired mare sighed. "Most ponies will believe anything."
The cyan mare was about to reply, when a red light above the door started buzzing and blinking. "Well, looks like we're needed down in HQ." Fleetfoot sighed.
"But I thought we were already in HQ." She said as all the Wonderbolts filed out of the room.
"It's like the HQ of HQ. The big room where they tell us our missions." Spitfire said, coming up behind them as all thirteen of them started trekking towards wherever the HQ was. It only took a minute or so to walk there, and it certainly stood out.
The iron door clashed with the beige walls, and another light, identical to the one Rainbow Dash had seen, was also blinking and buzzing.
The door creaked as they entered, and a large table greeted them. Big enough for numerous ponies. Sitting at the end facing the door was Rapidfire. He was turned around, gazing at many monitors on the wall behind him. He looked around as they entered.
"Glad you could make it." He said coolly.
"What's going on this time?" Soarin' asked as he took a seat around the the table, the others doing the same.
"I'm afraid we have another threat. Class alpha, if I'm not mistaken."
The twelve non rookies gasped. "Class ALPHA!?" Silver Lining inquired. "We haven't had one in fifty years!"
"Fifty three this May, I'm afraid. Before any of you were serving us." Rapidfire sighed. "Now, it's only an estimation, but nonetheless, this is going to be highly dangerous. The fact that Celestia gave us this task and not her Elements of Harmony proves that she's worried."
"Enough of the chitchat." Misty said. "What's the threat?"
Rapidfire turned around again to face the screens. He hit a button and they came to life with a magical aura. "Wonderbolts." He said, addressing them all. "This is our threat." They saw about ten seconds worth of scenery, before several ponies stepped into view.
Well...they can't exactly be called ponies. Something didn't seem right, and Dash was sure she'd seen them. Somewhere.
Their coats ranged from grey to dark grey. Their manes assorted colors of blue. She didn't know about their eyes, as they were covered with yellow goggles, and their bodies covered with black and purple flight suits.
The three pegasi circled the clearing. Talking amidst themselves and keeping watch. Suddenly, she knew where she had seen them before.
The Shadowbolts.
***
"The Shadowbolts!?" Dash yelled, causing all heads to turn her way. "How could they be a threat? Nightmare Moon made them up! They're a figment of her imagination!"
"I'm afraid not, Miss Dash." Rapidfire said. "Our scientists looked into it after Princess Luna returned to power. You see, Nightmare Moon's powers are immense. But her shapeshifting powers are limited to whatever actually exists in the world. That never stopped her, but that means she must've come into contact with them at some point...Or at least have seen or heard of them."
The cyan mare thought about this, as Lightning Streak, a yellow maned pony cut in. "So what's the big deal with these...ponies?"
"I might as well get to the point." Rapidfire said. "Numerous mares and stallions have gone missing in the past decade, and all the disappearances have been linked to these three. Whether through witnesses, hoofprints, or evidence left behind, we have determined that these ponies are bad news. But we didn't know enough about it until we heard about it firsthand from a pony who claims to have escaped from them. She had escaped kidnap and eventually one of our agents found her."
"Who is this mare?" Fire Streak asked. "Could we meet her?"
Rapidfire grinned. "Funny you should ask." He motioned to the door. "Please come in, miss."
The door swung open, and in walked yet another pony that Rainbow Dash knew.
And this one loved muffins.
“So Miss Hooves, can you tell us about your encounter?”
“Yeah. I guess I can.” The grey mare said. She then proceeded to sit there, staring at either the floor or the ceiling. It’s kinda hard to tell.
Rapidfire followed up on his first question. “So could you tell us about it now?”
“Oh! Sure!” Derpy said, training one of her eyes upon the ponies in the room, the other still looking at the floor. “So, I was at home late at night a couple of weeks ago, when I got REALLY hungry! Y’know, when you’re so starving that your tummy starts grumbling? It was all like, GRAAHRBLEGRRUMMMMBLEEERRRUUUHHH, and so I went to the kitchen! And I knew what I wanted! I wanted a muffin! But when I got there, there weren’t any. Not. One.”
The look on Rapidfire’s face showed that he wasn’t particularly enjoying this.
“So I started thinking, and I finally remembered that I had left all my muffins at the park! You see, I had been eating them at the park with my daughter, Dinky. She’s the cutest little thing! She couldn’t stop eating the chocolate-cherry muffins. They’re her favorite! Of course, I love the blueberry muffins myself. But banana muffins aren’t that bad either. There are lots of different muffins! Lemon poppyseed muffins, sweet potato muffins, bran muffins for the old ponies, hay, I even tried a strawberry artichoke muffin once…”
“COULD YOU GET TO THE POINT!?” Rapidfire shouted. Derpy remained unfazed.
“Oh, sorry! I get off track a lot, don’t I? Anyway, I flew all the way to the park, and I only crashed into five trees! It was really dark out. So I got to the park, and the muffins were still sitting there in my picnic basket. I was going to just fly home after getting them, but it was a really pretty night, and Dinky was already in bed, so I figured What’s the rush? I sat down and started eating my muffins.”
“I had only eaten a few of them, when these three ponies walked right out of the bushes. They saw me and came over to where I was. They had these flight suits on, and they looked kinda scary, but my mama always told me to be kind to strangers! So I offered them some muffins. They declined, but then they’re all like ‘Hey there. Want to come with us?’ And I’m like ‘No thanks!’ And they’re like ‘You WILL come with us or else.’ And so I asked ‘Or else what?’ And they said ‘Or you’ll regret it.’ So I’m like ‘Regret what?’ And they’re like ‘Coming with us’ and they’re starting to look like real grumps, in my eyes.”
Rapidfire looked like he was considering the idea of throttling her.
“So I say ‘And what if I don’t want to go with you?’ And they say ‘Then you’ll regret it.’ Then I’m like ‘regret what?’ And then they looked REEEAALLLYYYY annoyed for some reason, and they said that I was going with them whether I wanted to or not. And then one of them sprang at me and started trying to hit me.” The blonde maned pegasus shuddered at the memory. “I fought back by hitting him with my picnic basket. Muffins flew everywhere! But that bought me enough time to escape. So I ran, and ran, and ran, and ran, and eventually I got back to Ponyville! So I started running around, warning ponies about evil attackers on the park. I got the WHOLE town to follow me to the park, but they weren’t there!” She wasn’t kidding about that part. Rainbow Dash remembered having to get up around 3 AM to find these ‘evil meanies’ as Derpy had put it. “Everypony forgave me for it, and everything went as normal. But then, a couple of days ago, I got a call from these official ponies who wanted to see me! They said they’d pick me up the very next day, so I dropped Dinky off at her aunt’s house in Manehattan, and you guys picked me up, and here I am!” Derpy struck a triumphant pose as she finished.
Everyone else in the room breathed a sigh of relief at the prospect of the story being over. “Thank you, Miss Hooves.” Rapidfire said. “That was very…informative.”
“Glad I could help!” Derpy beamed. “May I go back to my room? I had been working on a VERY important project right before I came over here!”
The chief Wonderbolt knew for a fact that the mare had been staring at a wall with great interest when she had been summoned over to the conference room, but he dismissed her anyway. “Yes, you may go back to your room. And I assure you that you will be back to Ponyville once this threat has been neutralized. Until then, you are our prime source of info and most likely a target for the Shadowbolts.”
Derpy Hooves had apparently caught only the first few words of that, as she bounded out the door, only to return a minute or so later, asking where her room was. Fleetfoot sighed. “Sector B, right?” Rapidfire nodded. She sighed. “I’ll take her to her quarters.”
The last thing they heard before the two mares walked out of earshot was Derpy babbling on and on about quarters. “I have quarters? I didn’t know I was going to get paid for this! How many quarters do I get? Two? Three? FIVE!?”
Rapidfire sighed. “I don’t think that even the Shadowbolts’ seem so bad after the pain I just went through listening to her.”
Rainbow Dash smiled. If only they knew that she had to deal with her almost every day. She would probably seem like the bravest pony ever, in Rapidfire’s eyes. But he probably wouldn’t be able to hear her anyway, given that he was now slamming his head repeatedly against the table.
Author's Note
Hey there. Way sorry about taking a million years for each chapter. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the Derpiness of this one!
