The Ordinary Ponies

Chapter 21: Amazing Bolts

Within Wonderbolt Academy, members of Wonderbolts were rehearsing for the upcoming performance. The academy was located on an exceptionally dangerous hill, surrounded by steep slopes and extremely flat tops, surrounded by layers of white clouds, with a rainbow waterfall flowing out from the holes in the cliff below.

“Soarin, keep up! Fleetfoot, pay attention to formation!” Spitfire hovered in the air, holding a horn and shouting to the members. Above the runway, several pegasuses form a formation and perform high difficulty stunts.

They were wearing blue and gold Wonderbolt uniforms, and although their mane colors were different, they were generally typical "team" mane-styles.

After completing a series of actions, they landed together on the runway, standing tall and full of energy.

“Well done, guys!” Spitfire praised generously. “If it gets a little better on the day of the performance, we will definitely shock everyone!” After listening, the members each smiled and then went to the edge of the runway to drink water and rest.

Spitfire also descended and shouted into the air, “When else do you want to see? Come down.” The members followed her voice and looked up, only to see a purple fire balloon tearing open the clouds and slowly descending.

Obviously, this fire balloon had been hiding behind the clouds all along, observing the entire training ground through the gaps of the clouds.

Inside the fire balloon was Mr. Miracle and his briefcase, with Rainbow Dash holding a rope on her back and connecting it all the way to the balloon. “Had you already noticed us?” he asked.

“Of course, a qualified pegasus always observes all directions and listens attentively,” explained Spitfire. “Besides, I'm the captain. Tell me, what do you want?” Her tone was slightly impolite, obviously remembering what Mr. Miracle had said.

Rainbow Dash rarely got to see her idol up close, so she was a bit hesitant. Mr. Miracle remained calm and never forgot the purpose of this trip. He calmly climbed down from the balloon and stood beside the runway on the ground, saying, “I came here mainly to ask for your help.”

“Help? Or restructuring?” Spitfire raised her eyebrows, feeling a bit displeased, but looked around and said, “If you want to talk, then go inside. They don't need to listen to this.”

Mr. Miracle was taken aback. He thought she would speak up in public to make all members resist him; But she didn't do it, even though she disliked his proposal.

“No, I think they all need to know about this,” Mr. Miracle said sincerely. “Before requesting your help, I have to apologize for my previous words and actions.”

Now it was Spitfire's turn to be stunned, she didn't know what his plan were.

Mr. Miracle ignored the gaze of other members and slowly said, “I think everyone knows that the two princesses entrusted me with military reform, striving to form an armed force capable of dealing with various crises.”

“Indeed, I have heard of it.” “Some of ponies in Canterlot are spreading the news about it.” “But aren't we the armed forces? We always set out in every crisis!” ...The members were discussing it, and when they were almost done, Mr. Miracle raised his hoof to ask them to stop so that he could continue speaking.

“It's difficult to form a legion from scratch, and I have to ensure its elite level. The Royal Guards didn't meet my expectations, so I thought of Wonderbolts - the most elite flying team in all of Equestria. Just with a little reform, Wonderbolts will definitely become the strongest armed force.”

“It seems like a good thing.” “Sounds good.” “Why didn't Spitfire tell us?” The members started discussing again, but before Mr. Miracle could ask them to stop, Spitfire waved her hoof to help him stop first.

“Reform means professionalization, which means that the new legion will no longer have performances or stunts, all for military service; and the performance team can be independent and dedicated to performing, no longer involved in the responsibility of defending Equestria.”

This sentence was like a bombshell, shocking the members and leaving them speechless. Mr. Miracle seemed as if he hadn't seen their faces and continued, “As a result, Ms. Spitfire refused this proposal. At first, I didn't understand why, but later, after being reminded by Rarity, I realized how inappropriate my measure was - it was like tearing apart entire Wonderbolts.

“In the past, I thought stunts were just stunts, and performances were just performances, but I overlooked the connotation represented by this legendary team with the long history - when the members proudly soar in the sky, you are not only the pride of the pegasuses, but also the cultural symbol and spiritual totem of entire Equestria. When the ponies see you performing various stunts in the sky, they will spontaneously express their sincere pride and happiness.

“I'm sorry I didn't realize this earlier, otherwise I wouldn't have said such offensive words. I understand Spitfire's decision to continue the tradition and existence of Wonderbolts, so I want to apologize for my words and actions - I'm sorry, Ms. Spitfire.” After speaking, Mr. Miracle really lowered his head with an extremely sincere attitude.

Spitfire had always been tough in her actions, and most of the ponies she encountered were similar. She had never seen such a scene before, and she didn't know what to say at the moment.

In other words, she was “yielding to soft approach but rejecting force”. With this attitude, she had to awkwardly nod and accept the apology. On the other side, Rainbow Dash opened her mouth and eyes wide, completely unaware of Mr. Miracle's reform plan, which was to completely reorganize Wonderbolts.

She didn't know now whether his failed reform was good or bad.

“However, military reform must be carried out, and new troops must also be formed –”

“Hey, you've already apologized, why are you still insisting?” Spitfire interrupted helplessly. “Although I have accepted your apology, my answer is still 'no'.”

“Don't worry, I won't bring up restructuring again,” Mr. Miracle said quickly before other members of the team were about to “attack” him. “I will start forming the legion from scratch.”

The members breathed relief-sighs, and so did Spitfire. She said with a sense of relief, “I'm glad we've reached a consensus on this.”

“Then I need your help.”

“As long as there is no reorganization, I can help anything,” Spitfire agreed decisively.

“I made many mistakes and encountered great difficulties in the process of forming the new legion, which made me realize that without the help of professional ponies, theory alone is not enough,” Mr. Miracle said as he pulled out a stack of documents from his briefcase. “So I would like to ask you and entire Wonderbolts to help form 'Amazing Bolts'.”

“This is not easy,” Spitfire smiled and took the document with her wings, quickly browsing through one or two pages and nodding. “But Wonderbolts will be never afraid of troubles. We’ll take it.”

“I never thought that one day I would be able to be an instructor,” said the female pegasus, who had a bright white mane and tail, and was all light blue in color. “Is the training location in Ponyville?”

“Right, it's between Ponyville and Cloudsdale, on the northern outskirts of Ponyville,” said Mr. Miracle. “Well, in case you ask, Big Mac refused to join the legion...but you still have a chance to see him.”

Upon hearing this, Fleetfoot was a bit surprised and asked, “Who is Big Mac?”

“Uh, never mind,” Mr. Miracle replied awkwardly. It seemed that she hadn't experienced “the crush on Big Mac” yet, but it was probably coming soon.

“Very good, I can taste the delicious apple pie of the Apple family again,” said Soarin, the male pegasus with a light-blue body and deep indigo mane. “Since the last time I tasted Applejack's apple pie at Grand Galloping Gala, I have never forgotten it.”

“The top priority is to find talented members. We don't want to ruin the reputation of Wonderbolts,” said Blaze, the female pegasus, who was also full of shiny gold and had a fiery mane. She looked a bit like Spitfire, but her mane color was darker, making everyone wonder if they were related.

Several members including Misty Fly and Surprise followed suit.

“Alright, guys, Mr. Miracle's plan is here. Let's study it carefully and then we'll show off our skills!” Spitfire announced. “Can we do it well?”

“Yes, we can.”

“Speak louder, I can't hear you!”

“Yes, we can !!!”

Mr. Miracle looked gratefully at the team in front of him, feeling a lot of emotions in his heart.

Sometimes walking too fast can easily overlook many details, so it is necessary to take a step back at the appropriate time, stop and think carefully.

In the following days, Wonderbolts promoted the news of the new legion throughout entire Equestria, attracting the attention of many ponies through the show tour.

When a large number of fans with star-eyes rushed over to inquire about joining Wonderbolts, members of Wonderbolts such as Spitfire suggested that they could try the equal level team, Amazing Bolts.

Although they had never heard of this legion before, as soon as they heard that the instructors were all members of Wonderbolts, interested individuals crowded the recruitment offices in various places.

Resume after resume was sent like snowflakes to Mr. Miracle's office in the town hall, and the poster was Derby. When she left, Mr. Miracle stopped her and said, “Derby, I'm sorry for rejecting you so quickly...If you still want to join, you can participate in the selection.”

Derby was surprised. “Really?” she turned back and asked incredulously.

Mr. Miracle nodded. Derby then took out a muffin from her bag and smiled, saying, “Nice! I'll treat you to muffin.” Upon hearing this, Mr. Miracle couldn't help but laugh.

Wonderbolts not only helpd with publicity, but also had professional insights in selecting members and conducting assessments. No matter which pegasus, as long as they had a rough look, then they knew whether their foundation was good or not.

Sometimes, when Mr. Miracle thought some pegasus was not tough enough, they could see through the appearance to perceive the essence, including wing shape, body shape, and muscle mass.

In terms of selection, the series of testing projects they designed were also quite scientific. With just one process, all the data was clear. Based on these data, Mr. Miracle easily selected suitable ponies, and at that moment, he truly felt amazed that Amazing Bolts could be formed.

Unexpectedly, Derby’s data was surprisingly good. Her only weakness was her poor eyesight, and she suffered some minor injuries during the test, but she managed to go through. It seemed that she had made up her mind to reduce the expenses of muffins, which was why she had such a great determination.

Some unexpected ponies also arrived – Marble Pie, who was Pinkie's sister. This usually shy filly had a bluish gray body color and a deep bluish gray mane. In the strength test, she rode on top of the crowd and threw a huge rock hundreds of meters away, shocking the chins of all the ponies.

After a series of selections, the first batch of legion members were determined, including:

Pegasus Group - Thunderlane, Derby, Cloud Chaser, Cloud Kicker, Silverspeed, Star Hunter.

Earth Pony Group - Bulk Biceps (assigned to Earth Pony Group because he struggled to fly but had great strength), Marble Pie, and Candy Mane.

Unicorn Group - Minuette, Neon Lights.

They would receive rigorous training at the legion base on the outskirts of Ponyville, including projects designed specifically for Pegasus by Wonderbolts and a series of courses designed by Mr. Miracle.

The training he originally designed was not only difficult but also burdensome. After careful consideration, he didn't want to bring too many negative memories to these ponies. Indeed, training was never easy, but that didn't mean they couldn't do their best to make it easier to accept.

So he designed and rewrote many team games, hoping that in these fiercely competitive games, they could not only exercise their physical fitness but also learn teamwork. In addition to these games, they also had to learn how to use those new weapons.

Even Wonderbolts had a limited understanding of these weapons. For example, the lance, which was used by the ancient pegasuses, had reappeared. Mr. Miracle designed various types of lances, including those for earth ponies or pegasusses.

The majority of the type of earth pony was made of metal, heavy and solid. With the speed of earth ponies running, it was definitely lethal for the villains; The type of pegasus was hollow wooden light lance, designed to break at the appropriate time to reduce the reactive force transmitted to the user.

After all, pegasuses’ speed sprinting was almost close to sound, and if they still used solid lance, it was easy to get injured; There was also a “torpedo type” like overweight solid lance, which was not suitable for direct hard impact.

Instead, it was hung on the pegasus’ belly. When they accelerated to the limit, they dived down from the sky, predicted to release the hook, and the overweight lance will continue to fly with inertia, hitting the opponent directly at unparalleled speed and weight.

Each of the members had their own unique suit. Earth ponies were with heavy defense and metal armor covering their entire bodies;

Pegasuses, on the other hand, prioritized mobility and therefore used titanium alloy. Their armor thickness was not as thick as that of earth ponies, but under the belly was equipped with a dedicated grappling hook that could carry tactical weapons, including flash bombs, pepper bombs, flame bombs, tear gas bombs, and more;

Unicorns, on the other hand, were primarily lightweight because their duty was to provide support and keep up with the pace of teammates at all times. Finding their position and facilitating their movement was of utmost importance. They had a yoke on their armor and could pull a weapon cart to replenish ammunition for them at any time.

The combat style of Amazing Bolts was very different from that of Wonderbolts. It emphasizes quickly reaching the battlefield, ending the battle quickly, or helping other legions suppress firepower. Therefore, coordinated attack was the most important issue, and it was necessary to create a lightning-like rapid offensive.

Pegasuses attacked from the air, while earth ponies attacked from the ground, a dual strategy.

Mr. Miracle hoped to have more time to train them, but he couldn’t miss any opportunity to practice.

……

Soon it was Spike's birthday at Ponyville. In Canterlot, he had never received a gift from a pony other than Twilight; In Ponyville, his close friends gave him unique gifts - Rainbow Dash gave dumbbells, Applejack gave blankets, Rarity gave a kiss, and Twilight, as always, gave him a book.

However, when he learned that he could ask for gifts under the pretext of his birthday, his greedy nature as a dragon was stimulated. The more things he hoards, the greedier he became, the larger his body became, and the more irrational he became.

When Mr. Miracle and the members of the legion, who were busy at the training base, learned of the situation that Spike had already turned into a towering dragon and was wreaking havoc in the town, they immediately rushed to Ponyville and saw a purple giant dragon several floors high.

He roared while continuing to pack things. The residents in town were scared and scattered around, with constant alarms ringing in their ears.

Wonderbolts were the first to respond, but they didn’t have Amazing Bolts’ weapons. All they did was shave Spike’s head. Of course, except for Twilight and the others, as well as Mr. Miracle, no one knew that this wild haired dragon was Spike.

“Just follow the plan, guys!” Mr. Miracle blew his whistle, and the fully armed team immediately launched an attack. He continued to shout at Wonderbolts, “Leave him to us, you evacuate the residents first!”

Several members of Wonderbolts nodded and immediately rushed to evacuate the crowd. And the pegasus group of Amazing Bolts was already in place, with Minuette and Neon Lights using magic to equip them with light lance.

The pegasuses immediately took off, accelerated suddenly, and formed two rows in a batch charging formation. When approaching Spike, they quickly dodged to the side.

Several lances pierced one by one at an unparalleled speed and shattered as expected to dissipate the enormous recoil. Each lance strike would cause a loud noise and shatter a scale. Spike roared loudly in pain and walked towards the distant mountain edge.

The earth pony group didn’t follow suit to charge with their lances, as with the height of Spike, they could only stab his heels. They changed their tactics and ran over, suddenly throwing out several sturdy ropes with heavy objects tied to the ends, so that they would spontaneously entangle themselves with inertia.

Bulk Biceps, Marble Pie, and Candy Mane quickly wrapped nine ropes around Spike's right foot, and then they pulled hard in the opposite direction together, making Spike unable to move a single step and almost falling.

They continued to struggle with Spike, and the pegasus group immediately returned to the ground to replace their equipment. Two unicorns, pulling weapon carts, had been waiting for a long time. Part of the pegasuses were suspended in the air, and unicorns hung overweight lances on them; while other pegasuses still hung breakable light lances.

Being equipped, they immediately took off and the light lances team launched a sprint following the previous attack. As soon as Spike felt pain, the earth pony group suddenly exerted force and finally pulled him down.

In the midst of smoke, the overweight lances group ascended to the sky at a slower speed, which was still too heavy, so it needed the help of gravity to accelerate.

When they reach a sufficient height, the overweight lances team dived downwards and climbed in a straight line under the action of gravity until they released the hook at the appropriate time, suddenly pulling up. The uncontrolled overweight lances hit downwards like huge nails.

This powerful attack left the nearby Wonderbolts dumbfounded. It seemed that Amazing Bolt was indeed, as Mr. Miracle said, a complete legion.

As long as they repeated the operations, Spike would definitely have no chance, but Mr. Miracle’s goal was only to delay him and buy time for Rarity to arrive at the scene.

When she heard that the terrifying greedy giant beast was Spike, she was so shocked that she couldn't close her mouth, and fear overflowed in her words; But when she learned that it was all caused by greed, and that only she could awaken his true nature, her expression gradually became resolute, determined to take any risks for her friend, without considering that if the awakening failed, the crazy Spike might harm her.

She disregarded the fact that her newly made cloak was torn apart in order to rush to the scene as soon as possible. She approached Spike under controlled by the earth pony group, and took out the heart-shaped ruby he had given to her.

“It was given to me by a little dragon friend...Do you remember?” She didn't have the fear but only concerns for her friend. “He is the most caring, kind, and generous dragon in the world, not the greedy monster who only knows how to rob now.”

Spike’s struggle slowed down, and his eyes widened as if this ruby had stirred up some memories. Rarity seized the opportunity and continued, “Wake up, don't be defeated by your greed! I have also been troubled by negative emotions before, but I overcame jealousy with reason, and you can definitely overcome it with reason too.”

Spike shook his head abruptly and instantly transformed back. All the ponies were surprised to find out that he was Spike.

Mr. Miracle and Pinkie's focus was a bit strange: what was the specific process behind such a rapid change?

The crisis was resolved, and Twilight, Rarity, and friends gathered around Spike to comfort him. He received another kiss and remained emotionally stable; And the first team of Amazing Bolts won their first battle with excellent performance, which was cheered and praised by all the ponies.

Wonderbolts had to admit that the combat power of this legion far exceeded imagination.

“My friends, enjoy the cheers, this is what you deserve,” Mr. Miracle patted the shoulders of Thunderlane, Marble Pie, and Minuette and said. “I will tell the two princesses this good news, and you deserve their commendation. However, there are also many things that can be improved in this battle, and I will study and research them again when I go back.”

The members of the three groups nodded, their victorious smiles lingering. They had a completely new understanding of the concept of "legion" for the first time.

Amazing Bolts, this name was indeed chosen correctly.