In Pursuit of...

Chapter 2: Wonderbolt 1

“And who do you think you are to talk to me like that?” Rainbow Dash snorted at Nimbus, “you’re no older than I am.”

“Well, uh, yeah-“ Nimbus stammered, “but I went to the Equestrian Defence Academy! So there! Now do as I say and stay out of the skies!”

“Sheesh,” Rainbow Dash said, pawing the ground, “all you had to do was ask.”

“Well this is a matter of security,” Nimbus said none too confidently, “and it’s my job as an EAF flyer and as a Pegasus to protect the ponies of Equestria during this important ceremonial event!” He puffed out his chest as he finished his sentence and stood tall.

“Uh huh,” said Rainbow, not buying into his show of force and confidence, “well if you’re a Pegasus like me, then how come I’ve never seen you around Cloudsdale?”

“I thought I just told you,” Nimbus said irritably, “I’ve been at the Equestrian Air Force Academy.”

“Oh, right,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. “I’m still pretty sure that doesn’t make you a better flyer than me.”

Nimbus’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What did you say?”

“You know exactly what I said,” Rainbow Dash spoke, smirking.

Nimbus nodded, then burst out laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding me! There’s no way you could hope to outfly me! EAF flyers are the best in the land!”

“Oh really?” Rainbow Dash asked, suddenly adopting a challenging tone, “then why don’t we find out just how true that is.”

“Alright,” said Nimbus, gazing skyward, “but only for a moment. I have a job to do. We’ll play chase, and my job is to catch you.”

“Fine,” Rainbow Dash said. “3, 2, 1, go!”

Rainbow Dash sprung into the air as fast, it seemed, as lightning.

“Oh no you don’t,” said Nimbus, giving chase. He started following the blue Pegasus through the air, matching her every move but not coming any closer. For an ordinary pony, he thought, she sure was fast! He saw his chance when Rainbow Dash went into a bank turn. Flaring his wings, he slowed and turned inside of her, and was about to strike when his helmet com sputtered to life.

“Nimbus, you there?”

Nimbus disengaged, cursing himself for having been distracted. He saw Rainbow Dash turn around and fly back towards him.

“I’m here, Sunshine. What’s up?”

“Did you find the intruder?”

Nimbus took another look back at Rainbow Dash. “Yeah, I found her. She’s got a warning. Just a Pegasus Pony.”

“Alright,” Sunshine responded, “resume your patrol. The Wonderbolts will be here soon.”

“Roger,” Nimbus said, “Nimbus out.”

He flew over to Rainbow Dash, glaring. “You see what you’ve done?” he asked, angrily.

“What?” Rainbow Dash asked, completely confused.

“You sabotaged my mission! You distracted me! Get out of here now so I can do my job!”

Rainbow Dash was crushed by Nimbus’s words. She had just been having fun, and it seemed he had been, too. Now she was blinking back tears. This pony could’ve been a good friend.

“Fine,” she said, and turned around, flying for the stadium grounds, “I never wanted to hang out with you anyway.”

Nimbus tried shrugging off her words, but inside, they stung him, too. He didn’t have time for a friend in his life right now,

though, he reasoned.

But if that was true, then why did he want desperately for Rainbow Dash to come back?

…

Rainbow Dash rocketed through the sky back towards her friends, her anger forcing her to go faster. She was traveling so quickly, she ended up creating a sonic rainboom on the way, startling several ponies walking to the stadium. Finally, Rainbow spotted her friends walking as a group, and touched down, skidding towards them and stopping right in front of Pinkie Pie.

“Well hi, Dash!” Pinkie said.

“Hi,” Rainbow Dash responded, hanging her head and walking to the back of the group. Pinkie Pie just watched with a slack jaw. Rainbow Dash almost never acted like this.

“I saw you up over the stadium earlier,” Rarity said, trying to be helpful.

“Yeah,” Fluttershy said, then added, “it looks like you’ve found a friend!”

“A friend?” Twilight Sparkle said, “that’s great! You’ll have to introduce us.”

“Friend?” Rainbow Dash snorted, “ha. More like a stuck-up wonderhooves.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Apple Jack said, coming to her friend’s side, “but cheer up a bit. I’m sure you’ll love watching the Wonderbolts perform.”

“Oh yeah!” Rainbow Dash said, suddenly perking up again. “I can’t wait!”

“Then let’s get going!” Pinkie Pie said, leading the way. Rainbow Dash followed happily, putting the new Pegasus out of her mind for the moment. Today, she’d get her chance once again to prove herself to the Wonderbolts. She only hoped that nothing out of the ordinary would interrupt her this time.

She couldn’t be more wrong.

…

Nimbus took his seat up in Princess Celestia’s and Princess Luna’s private box along with the rest of his security detail. He was eager to see the show. The Thunderbolts had flown over during his graduation from the Equestrian Air Force Academy, and now rumor had it that he and his group were about to meet them in person. He could barely contain his excitement.

“I’m glad the EAF could spare ponies like you,” Celestia said to Sunshine, a gold Pegasus and the leader of the detail.

“Verily,” Princess Luna agreed, “mine nerves hath been calmed by thine presence here.”

“Especially with the dark magic reports from the borders,” Celestia agreed.

“Well, your Highness,” Sunshine said, “it’s our job, and frankly, we enjoy being here. It was quite generous of you to allow us to enjoy this show.”

“Oh, think nothing of it,” Celestia said, “as I said before, I’m glad you’re here.”

Nimbus suddenly heard the sound of approaching hooves. As he swiveled to see who was approaching, his jaw dropped. The Wonderbolts themselves were heading his way!

“Greetings,” the lead Wonderbolt said, approaching Sunshine. Sunshine dipped his head in acknowledgement. Nimbus was practically falling out of his seat. He knew two of them by name: Spitfire and Fleetfoot. The lead pony was unfamiliar, however. Perhaps, he reasoned, he was new. In any case, a new face in the Wonderbolts would be interesting. Any recruit who could make it to the lead position in such a short time would have to be extremely talented.

“Pleased to meet you, sir. I’m glad you could take the time to meet me and the rest of my detail," said Sunshine, shaking the Wonderbolt's hoof.

“Always time for the defenders of our homeland,” the Thunderbolt responded. “I’m Wonderbolt One, and behind me are two and three. We’ll be flying today.”

Wonderbolt One suddenly turned to look at Nimbus. “And it seems we have quite the acrobat over here.”

“Me?” Nimbus asked, “but I don’t-“

“Oh come now, we saw you doing a few tricks over the field. Very impressive.”

Nimbus blushed. “Was that me? I, uh…” he glanced over at Sunshine who was looking at him quizzically, “yeah, I guess it was.”

“Well keep up the practice,” said Wonderbolt One, “you never know- we might need a new team member someday.”

Nimbus wasn’t sure why, but for some reason, the pony’s words seemed ominous. He dismissed the thought, however. He was probably just getting over his senior pony finding out about his stadium antics with that Rainbow Dash girl.

“Thanks, sir!” he said, “I can’t wait to see you guys perform.”

“Oh yes, this performance is definitely going to be one of our best. The finale is unmatched in its majesty. You might even say it’ll be… explosive.”

Wonderbolt One turned and walked away with the rest of his team, but just before he walked out of sight, he turned around and winked at Nimbus. Nimbus wasn’t sure what to make of the gesture. It seemed friendly enough, perhaps even cool, but something about it unnerved him. He didn’t have much time to dwell on it, however. Sunshine scooted over to his side.

“So, Nimbus, what’s this about aerobatics?”

“Sir, it’s nothing, really,” Nimbus responded, “I was just, uh, meeting a newcomer and having a bit of fun. It won’t happen again, sir.”

Sunshine’s eyes narrowed, then suddenly became friendly as he smiled and patted Nimbus on the back.

“I was wondering when you’d lose that businesslike demeanor! And now you’ve gone and found a friend to boot! It’s about time you let some fun into your life!”

Nimbus was utterly shocked. He’d been expecting a harsh rebuke, not this.

“Sir?”

“Ever since you left that Academy, all you’ve thought about is work, work, work, which isn’t a bad thing, I guess. The trouble is, I’ve never seen you with any friends. Ever. Now you’ve got one!”

Nimbus was confused, now. “But sir, what about my job? I left my patrol!”

“Well, I must agree with you on that, but I trust you’ll do better next time. Making friends is much better for you in the long run.”

“I guess,” Nimbus said, thinking about Rainbow Dash. Sunshine was wrong. She wasn’t a friend. She was an annoyance, someone who’d upset his world and proven herself capable of being as good a flyer as himself. He would never befriend her.

...

“Fillies and Gentlecolts!”

An enthusiastic voice sounded over the loudspeaker, and Rainbow Dash nearly fell from her seat. A few moments ago, Pinkie Pie had excused herself, supposedly for refreshments. It was her voice which was now echoing over the stadium, though! Rainbow turned to her friends, and all of them were equally amazed. She’d managed to keep the whole thing a secret. Slowly, they began to clap, and the rest of the audience joined in.

“Aw, thanks!” Pinkie said, having obviously discovered the source of the clapping. She cleared her throat and continued.

“Ahem- please give a warm welcome to Equestria’s best and brightest flyers: the Wonderbolts!”

On the announcement of their name, the Thunderbolts zoomed over the stands from behind, surprising everyone and bringing about more clapping. When they reached the middle of the stadium, they pulled up, with the ponies on the sides splitting to the left and right in a giant fan formation.

Rainbow Dash was positively glued to the scene. “Go Wonderbolts!” she yelled through a mouthful of popcorn.

The Wonderbolts came in again, making several low, tight passes, barely missing each other. It was their most daring act yet, and more was to come. They, swooped, swung, spun, and dove upon the crowd, stirring everyone into a frenzy. Their show was one of the best around.

Finally, it was time for the final act: the formation pass. The ponies formed up in a triangle shape and sped towards the field. Suddenly, halfway through the maneuver, Wonderbolt One pulled up and out of formation, hovering as his teammates whizzed by with perplexed expressions.

“What in Equestria-?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She’d never seen them do that before. Nonetheless, it was bold, and she began to clap along with everyone else. The other Wonderbolts formed up alongside Wonderbolt One as they accepted the audience’s praise. Suddenly, a deep boom sounded, and the sky darkened. From out of the clouds shot blue bolts of light, which converged upon Wonderbolt One, surrounding him in glowing energy. Slowly, a transformation began to take place. The pony which had once been Wonderbolt One, was now changing into something else; some kind of nightmarish creature. The bolts of light suddenly retreated, leaving a large, dark shape hovering in the middle of the Wonderbolts. Suddenly, the shape moved, and a head, black as night with glowing blue eyes snapped up and stared straight at Princess Luna’s royalty box. At first glance, Rainbow Dash could swear that the being in front of them was none other than Nightmare Moon, but something was different. This pony was stockier, and looked stronger.

“Greetings, Ponies of Equestria,” the newcomer said in a sinister, male voice. This was most definitely not Nightmare Moon. This was someone else entirely. He fixed his gaze entirely upon Luna.

“And greetings to you… sister.”

…

“I’m engaging!” said Sunshine, headed straight for the dark pony. The creature barely shrugged, and a massive flash of blue appeared. When the light died down, all that was in Sunshine’s place was a frog bearing his cutie mark: the sun.

“What?” Nimbus breathed, “impossible!”

“No one does that to my senior pony!” Nimbus’s second partner, Cloudburst, said.

“No, Cloudburst, wait!” Nimbus said, but it was too late. Cloudburst rushed at the strange figure and met the same fate.

The nightmarish pony chuckled. “Two down. Anyone else want to try?”

“What dost thou want, fiend?!” Princess Luna boldly asked. The pony smiled.

“Why, you of course, and your kingdom. You’ve been away for a long time, Luna. Or should I say, ‘Nightmare Moon’?”

He turned to the rest of the ponies in the audience.

“My name is Eclipse,” he said. “Doubtless many of you have forgotten about me. I understand, it’s been quite a while. I am willing to forgive that, of course. I just demand one small thing from you: your princess.”

“Never!” shouted a voice from the audience. Nimbus looked to the source. It was one of Rainbow Dash’s friends: a purple Unicorn.

Eclipse chuckled darkly. “Very well, there are certainly alternatives. Mind you, I get what I want, no matter the cost others might pay.”

“Stop!” Princess Luna’s voice sounded from the stands. The valiant Princess stood bravely. “If it will protect my ponies, I shalt travel with thee.”

“Good,” Eclipse said, smiling. Suddenly a tendril of blue light shot out of his hoof and wrapped itself around Luna, pulling her to his side.

“Don’t try to follow me,” Eclipse growled, and took off into the sky.

“No!” Nimbus shouted, and took to the sky after Eclipse. The black pony saw his pursuer and laughed.

“Foolish boy, but you have spirit. I will let you fight another day.” A second tendril of blue light hit Nimbus and knocked him out of control. He began to spin wildly, heading for the ground.

…

Rainbow Dash saw the accident, and despite her loathing towards Nimbus, decided upon the one noble course of action she could take. She launched herself into the air, trying to find the right angle to intercept Nimbus. The pony was dropping quickly, and it would only be a matter of seconds before he hit the ground. Rainbow mustered all the strength she could and flew straight for Nimbus, catching him just a few hands above the ground. The crowd cheered.

“You saved me,” Nimbus croaked.

“Yeah, you’re welcome,” Rainbow Dash growled, unceremoniously dumping Nimbus onto the stadium field and walking back to her friends. Nimbus watched her go, realizing that she probably was still upset from what he’d said earlier. He wanted badly to apologize, but when he turned his head in the direction that Eclipse had gone, he knew he couldn’t.  Not yet. In the distance, darkness was gathering. He didn’t know what Eclipse wanted with Princess Luna, but he knew it wouldn’t be good. Suddenly, his mission was clear. He turned around to see Rainbow Dash still walking away. Something like this would call for backup, and his team, having been recently transformed into amphibians, wasn’t going to be much help. He needed some new muscle.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash! Wait up!” He called, swallowing his pride.