//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Legends of Harmony Season 1 // by AlphaOmega //------------------------------// Legends of Harmony By AlphaOmega "LET’S GO LET’S GO!" Yelled the coach "I wanna see those wings flapping like there is no tomorrow! Because if I don’t like it, there might be none for you!" She continued to yell over the roar of the other Wonderbolts zooming by. Rainbow Dash looked at them and smiled. She had come so far. She was now training new Wonderbolts. She performed for her best friends. The Wonderbolts Academy was massive. The pillars had a roman-esque design that made it look classical, yet modern. The main building was even bigger now than it was when Rainbow Dash went there when she was younger. Now, it was housing over 600 Pegasi and still more to enter. Rainbow Dash had made the Sonic Rainboom her own personal technique (it was her ticket into the Wonderbolts AND it marveled the kids and inspired them to become Wonderbolts.) She had many other techniques but thanks to her multi- color mane, she preferred the Sonic Rainboom. It was also one of the few reminders she had of her childhood. She had really grown. She had a sleeker body. Her mane was still a mess and so she was her tail but that didn't stop her from looking beautiful. Her legs were longer as well as her wing span. She could easily cover a good few miles in a few wing flaps. She was also mentally more mature. She started to take her responsibilities seriously. She rose every morning to assign different tasks for her weather control team in Ponyville. Then when all was tasked, she took off to teach her lesson at the Wonderbolts Academy for Young Fliers. When she finished her work for the day, she would return home to either re-read Daring Doo stories or create new ones (Daring Doo had ended years ago). Sometimes she had to do shows for royalty or nobility, but nothing excited more than giving a show for orphanages while she could really have any fan base she wanted, she always appealed to the children. And so she revolved her career around it. She went around performing for fillies for free. It reminded her so much of herself when she was young. The only other fan base that could rival for her attention was her friends. Every show, she sent out free tickets to them. Unfortunately, they were either busy with their own lives or had other commitments. But she always saw Twilight. And thus, the two became very close. They often spoke after shows about how things were going. From what Rainbow knew of Twilight's job, she was often busy but she did attend galas and parties so if Rainbow signed up for entertainment, she would be there in a heartbeat. It all brought a tear to her eye. She missed them all so much to the point that she would trade her status and wealth just to be young and free with them again. Less responsibility, more naps, and good times. Now it was all work and responsibility. She sighed. She was an adult now. She had a job and she would do it to the best of her abilities. "Alright! Way to go guys!" Called Rainbow from below. The other fliers came in hot and made perfect stops in front of Rainbow. "Sky high! Good job!" Rainbow commented "Just one problem. Next time, when spiraling out of a cloud, make sure to not go too high. We want to still be able to see you come out. Speeding straight up eliminates the "wow" factor." "Yes ma'am!" She replied. Rainbow turned to the other cadets. She gave each one a praising then a chastising. She finally let them off. Rainbow preferred to let them train really hard then take a short break. When they got back, they were gonna do some speed training. That’s when the fun started. "I see you know hard to work 'em hard, eh Rainbow?" said an orange pony as she came in for a landing. "Scoots! I thought I sent you to do some tasks." Said Rainbow. Scootaloo just sighed. "You know me Dashie. I like to work fast as possible." She smiled. Rainbow just smirked. She had practically trained Scoots herself. Born unable to properly fly, she often received the most trouble in flight school. She transferred to Ponyville. Her parents had abandoned her. She was an orphan. Perhaps that was why she always preferred to perform for orphans. Scoots decided to move in with Dash. Together they trained and work hard to get where they were. Now it was paying off. Rainbow returned the smile. "That’s Captain Rainbow Dash to ya, squirt!" She gently nudged her. Scootaloo had also grown considerably. Her wings received correctional surgery that eventually allowed her to fly normally. After that, she trained long and hard to be on the weather patrol. Now she was almost as tall as Dash but her mane was well combed. Scoots stomach rumbled. "Well, I got a few minutes before those storm clouds roll in and before you have to train. Wanna grab a bite?" She winked, "Captain?" Rainbow gave her best serious face before caving in. Together, they went into the mess hall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight's flying had improved over time. Being an Alicorn wasn't easy. She had to learn flying and was sent to a flying camp...for fillies. Fortunately, being a princess has its perks and she was able to strike a deal and learn from Dash herself. While she was not half as gifted as the rainbow streak, she learned enough to be able to fly fast and efficiently. As she scanned the skies for the Wonderbolts Academy for Young Fliers, she nearly missed the Cloud Coliseum. It was truly a massive structure. It had many ornate columns and statues. It was made from a cloud material that was so hard to break, it could be compared to a brick wall and make said wall cry. Normally it was closed to the public, but then again, one did not turn down a princess. Twilight wished to reminiscence about the good old days. The Coliseum was empty. She was lead by a guard as he gave a tour. However, she declined to continue after the tour was going underground (or as "under" as you can get in a cloud building.) The guard praised her as she took out a coin purse and tossed a few bits his way. As she sat down in the VIP section, she could not remember as clearly as earlier. She decided to sit elsewhere. Twilight scanned the rows to look for the seat she had once sat in so many years ago. The smallest things often had the most memories. Once she found it, she let her mind flow freely, blocking out all outside distractions until it was only her and blissful memories. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rarity rose to the sky as she exposed her wings. Her multi-colored wings spread color throughout the coliseum. Many were blinded by its beauty (and the fact she was directly in front of the sun.) Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash struggled to complete her routine. Her moment of truth. A Sonic Rainboom. Well, here goes nothing. Then it began. As Rainbow flew high into the sky, Rarity continued to glowed and bask in the sunlight. The wings, made from morning dew, began to melt in the intensity of the sun. She hardly noticed as her friend flew up above her, ready to perform the most legendary move in all of Pegasus history. Rarity! Your wings! They are breaking! Thank you Twilight they are quite- There was a scream. The wings combusted and the Element of Generosity fell from the great heights of Pegasopollis. Rainbow continued to push the sound barrier. She was coming close. Her ears started to pop. She was getting close. Soon she would break the sound bearer causing a legendary move that would impress the Wonderbolts and bring her one step closer to her dream. Then she heard it. She turned around to see Rarity, crying, make-up ruined, and screaming for help. Rarity! I've got you! She poured on the speed. There was another few thousand feet to go. Rainbow had to recover her fast otherwise they would both go into an unstoppable crashing force hurtling toward Earth. As she looked closer, she noticed someone else. The Wonderbolts had tried to help Rarity! Except now Rarity AND the Wonderbolts needed Rainbows help too. She suddenly felt something else. She felt her friend's life threatened. She might fail to save the very things important to her. She suddenly realized, loyalty meant nothing if you cannot protect the ones you love. She pushed her limits. Her mind was working overtime. Her muscles tightened. Veins popped out of her wings and hooves as she sped up. She closed her eyes to the intensity Then it all happened at once. Merely inches from the ground, something snapped. All sound seemed to evaporate. In its wake, a sonic boom occurred. But not just any sonic boom. As Dash opened her eyes she, she saw herself holding Rarity and the other Wonderbolts as a rainbow followed her back to the skies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Princess Celestia later crowned her the winner and gave her the first place prize: a day with her idols, the Wonderbolts. Twilight remembered seeing Rainbow's face as she met the Wonderbolts (conscious this time). The look on her face as she screamed "OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH" was hard to forget. The laughs they shared, Rarity learning her lesson, the other Pegasi apologizing for bullying her. It was so hard to forget, but so painful to remember. She felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. When did she have time to reflect on these things? She was always so studious. Sure, it got her to where she was now, but sometimes she would think to herself "What if I spent more time experiencing friendship than reading about it?” Twilight realized a lot would have been different. Through her combination of both experience and study, she had come out stronger. But the guilt remained. Now her friends were scattered, often not seeing them for years at a time. The last Wonderbolts show was 4 months ago. Twilight had to file taxes etc. etc. She did not make it. But she wondered to herself nonetheless. What if I had gone? She shook her head. This was not the time to think. Twilight was on a mission to reconnect the pieces of her friendship. The memories would be strong, yes, but it would never replace the part of her heart that yearned for a friend. She took off from the Coliseum to continue her quest for the Element of Loyalty. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "BUUURRRP!" Rainbow just put a hoof to her snout. "PHew! That is nasty! All we had was some pizza and soda! Where is that smell comin' from?" Questioned Rainbow Scootaloo just shrugged. "Shouldn't world class athletes be eating fruits and stuff? Why do you have pizza and junk food?" Countered the orange Pegasus. Rainbow explained that "certain athletes" improved their flight by eating junk food so they had something to burn when flying. Scootaloo just took it as it was without really questioning it. They were trotting around the campus. While Scootaloo often visited her surrogate sister, she never really got the grand tour of the Academy. "Over here is where we hold our trophies." Rainbow proudly gestured. The gold coming from all the awards shown so brightly it was a shock no pony was blinded. "This is us beating Manehatten in the Pony-lympics last year." She point out a massive case with numerous awards. Scootaloo prepared herself. Even though she loved Rainbow Dash, even she couldn't always stand what was to come. "So tell me, who is in this picture?" Rainbow said. "And this? And this? And-" Scoots just shook her head. "You may be more responsible and less inflated Dashie but you still are boisterous about your winnings." "Well when you are the Number 1 flier in Equestria, you tend to get overconfident." Scootaloo knew the trap. If she acknowledged the "overconfident" part, she would admit Rainbow was the best flier. Instead she smiled. And with two words, she started what would later on be heralded as a "massive waste of time and resources" by the board of directives at the academy. "Prove it." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ah there it is!" Twilight thought openly. She finally saw the Academy in the distance. It was an interesting building. It was massive in size, yet sleek and well designed. It was a work of art. Something that Pegasi were not necessarily known for. Yet, a masterpiece of architecture was right in front of her. The golden lines and banner of the Wonderbolts was an amazing sight. It had been ramped up in the past few years. On the banner now was a shield with four designations. On the right upper corner, there was a picture of clouds. This represented the home of the Pegasus. The lower right corner was a symbol of wings. The symbol of the Pegasi. The Upper left corner was a picture of mathematic equations and such. A few years ago, Twilight suggested that Pegasi learn math to help make better decisions on weather. It proved to be a wonderful asset and idea. The final symbol was the Wonderbolts crest itself. It had a lightning bolt going down the center and wings sprouting from it. All these things she absorbed...or would have had not a fast moving cerulean pony and her orange companion knocked her for a loop. She turned around to give the youngsters a fair warning before dropping her jaw. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Think she's mad?" Asked Scoots. "Nah. She'll do her breath exercise and she will be fine." Replied the Pegasus with a grin.