A cloud of warm breath escaped Rainbow Dash piercing the cool morning air that broke the stillness the night had brought, stepping out onto the grassy training field that was covered in soft morning dew she examined the vacant grounds. With a long teary eyed yawn Rainbow wiped away the sleep from her eyes with a hoof and began her stretches to push out her grogginess from waking up at such an early time.
Trotting in place to warm herself, Rainbows thoughts turned to all the new tricks that she was soon to practice. Well known in both Cloudsdale and Ponyville for being one of the fastest fliers to soar the Equestrian skies and set quite a few exceptional records, Rainbow was already held in high regards but she wanted more recognition. Rainbow Dash decided she was going to make one for the history books, she spent the last week designing a few new tricks for the upcoming air show that she was sure would leave everypony in awe.
A cocky half smirk curved up her cheek, she could almost hear her adoring fans cheering in unison to her awesome new moves. Flapping her wings Rainbow crouched, her belly low to the ground and hooves coiled as she readied to launch. Closing her eyes breathing in deeply of the chilled air that filled her lungs. She began feeling her body, flexing her leg muscles one by one focusing on her heart beat that was rhythmically pulsing her athletic blood through her veins . Rainbow slowly stretched her powerful wings outwards, raising them higher, holding them above her. She exhaled.
Opening her eyes wide Rainbow kicked with her hind legs springing into the air and with a strong flap of her wings she shot herself high into the crimson morning skies leaving the shrinking training field below. Rainbow arched back pulling herself into a gliding back flip fallowed by a few twirls and finishing with a barrel roll. Her heart pounded hard complimenting the strong wing beats that fallowed almost as quickly, the thrill and exhilaration driving her faster. Banking hard to her left Rainbow spotted a small cluster of clouds, grinning wide and narrowing her eyes to match she declared aloud “Now to bust up some clouds!” Picking up speed she dived towards the helpless fluffy clouds.
A rather fluffy cloud drifted along, bathing in the morning sun next to the other few clouds creating the cluster. “What a beautiful morning” the cloud thought as it admired the early morning bliss while drifting along carelessly being carried by a soft wind. A burst of blue and rainbow blurred through one of the clouds slicing clean through like warm butter, it quickly dissipated. The now alarmed cloud was blown farther away from the cluster from the previous blue rainbow attack. Another colorful blur shot through another cloud in the cluster from below, it was no more. The drifting little cloud watched in horror as another cloud burst apart, fading into the air. The blur was no where to be seen, the last of the little clouds still drifting off its original course from the previous attacks gusts, it stared at the vacant spot where its cluster once floated together. A single drop of rain fell from the cloud.
Rainbow was high in the sky, well beyond the cloud caps that warped along the lower atmosphere. She slowed down, flapping she wings to remain relatively stationary. Looking out over the massive expanse below she took in the awe of Equestria. Rainbow hadn’t been this high before, this was a sight quite awesome in her opinion. Taking in the moment she stopped flapping her wings and allowed gravity to pull her down, she folded her wings in close to her body along with her hooves.
Dropping fast Rainbow twisted till she aimed directly at the quickly approaching ground, gaining momentum with each passing second. Unfolding her wings she pumped them as hard as she could, her body blurring. She burst through a large cloud cap, the moisture clinging to her body and fallowing in the strong current that trailed her. With a gust of adrenaline, Rainbow broke the sound barrier. The beads of water splattered from her wings colliding with the wake of the barrier causing a blast of water droplets to spread out in a wide ring, mixed with the now partially risen sun it created a beautiful vibrant rainbow that continued to expand.
Rainbows mouth flapped uncontrollably from the force of the winds passing her by, she continued her descent downwards despite the turbulence from her approach. An undeniable grin was wide across her flappy mouth, the thrill of going so fast never felt so good. Rainbow was near the end of her descent, she had just passed the height of the nearby mountain. A blinding flash of white stretched out from the vacant sky to her left followed by a deafening *Crack-BOOM* The white faded, Rainbow barely got a glimpse of a large dark object falling before she was knocked clean off her path from the shock wave.
Twisting out of her free fall Rainbow reclaimed her trajectory and panned her head scouting the area to see what had happened. The skies were once again clear of any odd obstructions except for a small dust cloud that was rising from a patch of forest not far off. Still a bit shook up from the intrusive blast the shock wave had dealt Rainbow decided to land back down at the training field. She plopped down catching her breath, swimming through her thoughts as she played back what had happened in hopes of making some sense.
After a bit of contemplation Rainbow stood staring at the fading dust cloud. Curiosity firmly grasped her, she had to know what was the cause of the white light and dust cloud. Taking flight Rainbow soared above the field gliding closer to the tree canopy. By now the dust had faded completely and finding the cause would have been difficult if not for the broken trees that had fallen. Rainbow eyed the foreign object with apprehension. She landed a few hoof lengths away, a safe distance from it. As she walked closer she held a hoof up defending her nose from the new smell.
Upon further examination Rainbow had deduced that this object was mostly metal and was hallow as she could see through some clear parts of it, glass she thought as one clear portion was shattered like a window. A step closer revealed some odd symbols along a side of this boxy object along with the source of the even odder smell. Rainbow pawed her hoof at the ground trying to remove a sticky black liquid that had pooled out from below the metal box. “Gross, this is NOT cool” Stated Rainbow Dash. Almost as if in reply a low groan escaped from the ominous box. Rainbow froze in place, a tingle running up her back like a cold shiver on a rainy night.
Her eyes widened in horror as she witnessed a figure that had begun moving within the darkness of the bangled cube, something reaching though the opening. Grasping at the outside of the box. Rainbow mustered a fear filled “H-hello?”
