I sighed and placed my head on my brand new oak desk. I could barely stomach the news I had just heard. Soarin’ had zoomed out of the door the second I hung up the phone, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. I heaved sobs of sorrow, making my chest twinge in pain. Lightning Dust had certainly hit me pretty hard with those iron horse shoes. But I don’t know anypony capable of making shoes like that. It was strange and suspicious. Who was helping Lightning Dust? Who had helped her to ground Rainbow Dash? Grounded? How could she, my star student, be grounded? It made no sense!
“I should’ve known that Lightning Dust would be there!” I scolded myself. “She’s selfish, arrogant, reckless…” I stopped myself when I realized that I was getting too loud. Rapid Fire had entered the room, a concerned look on his face.
“Ma’am, is everything alright?” I placed my head in my hooves and sighed one last time before finally addressing him.
“No, everything is not alright!” I slammed my hooves onto the ground and menacingly trotted over to him. The poor stallion quivered where he stood and his pupils shrinked up until they were two little black dots against his eyes. I knew that he didn’t deserve my rage, but I could no longer control it.
“Have you found Lightning Dust yet?” I hollered at him.
“No, ma’am, not yet,” I growled under my breath and started pacing the room like a maniac. No trace of her? No hoof print? No clue? Nothing? I sat down and rubbed my aching head.
Suddenly, the alarm trumpet blasted. Fleetfoot must have spotted an unidentified pony flying up towards the academy. Rapid Fire immediately took off, as for the protocol, but I followed more slowly. It was probably just another trainee coming to ask how Rainbow Dash was doing… or maybe it wasn’t. I quickened my pace.
“How dare you show your face at the Wonderbolts Academy?” I scoffed at the stallion’s tone and approached him threateningly.
“Excuse me, Rapid Fire, but I’m not here to talk to you!” he snorted in rage and advanced towards me. I laughed. “Do you really think that you can take me on?” I loudly smashed my iron hoof into the ground, causing it to crack under the pressure. Many of the nearby trainees took several steps back and warily eyed my hooves. I smiled with glee, but then my smile vanished when I saw Spitfire come streaking towards me. She landed quickly, but quite loudly, on the ground, wings erect and nostrils flaring.
“You are wanted for attempted murder and treachery, Lightning Dust!” She accused me. I paused for a slight second and looked at all of the pathetic excuses for Wonderbolts… and I smiled.
“Attempted murder?” I repeated. “Is that what you think I was trying to do? You thought that I was trying to kill her?” Spitfire took a step back in shock at the words I was speaking which made me laugh even harder than I already was. “I was just trying to make her suffer! Like she made me suffer!” I advanced towards Spitfire, stomping my hooves into the ground so loudly that all of the Wonderbolts flinched.
“She didn’t make you suffer!” Spitfire retorted. “You brought your misery on yourself! You almost killed five ponies!” Spitfire then advanced on me. This was it. I was finally going to do it this time.
“Oh, yeah?” I questioned. “Well now, I’m going to almost kill six ponies!” I lunged at her, hooves stretched out to their maximum. I could still see the sores from her chest from where I had hit her last and they would soon prove to be an advantage. Spitfire then leaped out of the way and struck me in the side with her hoof, sending me bowling over close to the edge of the academy where there is nothing but a huge cliff. I jumped back onto my hooves and charged her again, using my wings for extra speed. She lashed out at me with her hoof again, but I quickly dodged it and landed a blow on her back, feeling the bone slightly give way beneath my hoof. Spitfire howled in rage and pain, but quickly turned on me and grabbed my ear in her mouth. I screamed as she pulled on the flesh, blood starting to pour into my eyes and blinding me. I aimed for her gut and struck out, successfully hitting my target. She gasped and tried to regain her breath, but I was already on top of her. I kicked and punched and looked around me as the other Wonderbolts stood in horror at their captain being pummeled.
Suddenly, a brilliant streak of light blue and dark blue knocked into my side, sending me flying off of Spitfire. I hit the ground hard, getting the wind knocked out of me, and then I turned to see who it was.
“Soarin’,” I acknowledge him as he tried to help his teacher onto her hooves. “I should’ve known you would come to save the day!” He glared at me with his emerald eyes and extended his wings in defense. “How’s Rainbow Dash doing?” With that question, he charged me.
“You’re going down!” He shouted, baring his teeth. As he got closer, I stretched out my hoof; tripping him and making him face plant onto the ground. I didn’t want to fight him now. My main focus was Spitfire. I quickly hit him behind the head with my hoof, making him pass out for only a slight second, but that second was plenty of time to apply my final touches to Spitfire.
Unfortunately, the other members of the Wonderbolts blocked my path, all sneering at me and growling under their breath. I snickered at them and then pressed my lips together to whistle as loud as I possibly could. Then I saw them. I saw all of them, flying towards the Wonderbolts, iron hooves outstretched and giving a loud battle cry. Near the front of the pack was my second in command, Thunderlane. The black stallion had been living in Rainbow Dash’s shadow for years, so naturally he wanted in on the action to destroy her life.
As my brigade collided with the Wonderbolts, I advanced on Spitfire who was still breathing heavily on the ground. She attempted to get up and face me, but to no avail. I then pinned her body down with my hooves and stared into her un-flinching eyes.
“You are the one who needs to die, Spitfire,” I whispered into her ear. “With you in the equation, I can’t fulfill my promise.”
“Promise to whom?” she questioned. I laughed.
“A personal friend,” then I slammed my front hooves into her wings, crunching the bones inside of them. She, however, refused to scream even though I saw in her eyes how much she wanted to. I pushed them harder into the ground and spread my legs in opposite directions, dragging the wings with them. She gritted her teeth so hard that they started to crack. She was determined not to give me pleasure in this. Then, before I knew it, I was done. Both of her wings had been removed from her body. Her eyelids twitched as she fell in and out of consciousness.
“NO!” I heard somepony shout. I turned to see Soarin’ come charging at me once more, but was then pinned down by Thunderlane.
“Going somewhere, lover pony?” Thunderlane taunted. Soarin’ struggled underneath the larger stallion’s weight, but soon relaxed his muscles and resolved to snort in rage. I gazed down once more at Spitfire who was gagging in her own blood.
“Time to take your final flight, Spitfire,” then I rolled her across the academy towards the edge and I pushed her over.
“NO!” Soarin’ shouted again as he saw his captain go tumbling over. I watched as her body became smaller and smaller until the clouds blocked my vision. At first, the battlefield was quiet. The Wonderbolts stared at me with terror and some even tried to fly after Spitfire, but the rest of my brigade held their ground. I continued to watch over the cliff, waiting for the mighty Spitfire to come floating back to her kingdom, but nothing happened. Thunderlane then approached me since Soarin’ could not move because of his shock. I looked over to Thunderlane and gave him a slight nod.
“She’s gone!” Thunderlane shouted triumphantly. Everypony in my brigade cheered and shouted in joy at our victory and the Wonderbolts lay on the ground, eyes opened wide in shock. I then opened my wings and flew up to a large boulder in the ground and I perched myself on top of it.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” I announced. “Spitfire is dead, Rainbow Dash is gone, and now I am your new leader!” My brigade cheered even louder as the Wonderbolts booed and hissed. “Now we must prepare for what lies ahead!” And with those words, I dismounted the boulder and starting happily trotting towards Spitfire’s old office… now my office. Soarin’ blocked my path.
“And what does ‘lie ahead’, Lightning Dust?” he asked me with spite.
“Revolution,”
“I won’t do what you ask,”
“Very well, you don’t have to. I don’t need you anyway. You’ll be a weakness! Thunderlane!” my second in command approached me. “Shackle him,” Thunderlane nodded and pinned Soarin’ to the ground. This time, Soarin’ didn’t even bother to struggle. “Make sure he will never see his precious Rainbow Dash… again,” Soarin’ allowed a single tear to slide down his cheek, but then he spoke up.
“Mark my words, Lightning Dust, you’ll regret this,”
“Will I?”
“Rainbow Dash may be grounded, but she will always have one thing that you will never have!”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“She has friends!” Thunderlane then proceeded to drag Soarin’ away as I contemplated his words. The only pony that I did feel threatened by who was Rainbow Dash’s friend was Princess Twilight Sparkle, but the other ponies… wait! The other ponies! I did, after all, need a plan ‘B’ if Rainbow Dash ever decided to show her face here again. And I had the perfect plan…