After a long month of touring by the Washouts, Lightning Dust travelled back to finally relax at her home in Cloudsdale. It was the first time since the start of the month that she was able to get some peace of mind without worrying too much about stunt performances. As she landed at her doorstep, she quickly looked over at the large pile of letters at her hooves. She thought for a moment before swiftly sliding the papers inside her house with her wing and shutting the door.
"They're probably all just fans, I'll read them after I get some sleep," Lightning Dust scoffed. She trudging up her stairs and towards her room. She opened the door, glancing at the alarm clock that read "1:39 A.M." in clear green letters.
"Wow, it's really late," Dust said as she went straight for her bed, jumping in and letting herself drift into a much deserved sleep.
After a few hours, Lightning Dust awoke, stumbling out of bed towards the stairs with soreness in her wings and nothing in her stomach. She glanced at the clock, reading "10:07 A.M."
"Ugh...overslept again..." she mumbled as she made her way to the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. After fixing a meal consisting of oatmeal and eggs, she decided to read some of the letters she missed while away on tour.
The first 13 consisted of fan mail and an advertisement for a new restaurant that opened in Cloudsdale. As she reached for the next envelope, she froze as she shifted her gaze to the emblem it beared. It was the Wonderbolt's logo, one she hadn't seen since she got her acceptance letter into the academy. She tore the letter open, curious of its contents.
She began to read the letter in its entirety:
NOTICE OF INVESTIGATION:
You have been ordered to appear at the Wonderbolt's Headquarters for an interview regarding the "Washouts" group activities. You are expected to appear no later than January 15th. Failure to follow the contents of this letter will lead to a warrant for your arrest.
Signed,
Captain Spitfire
Lightning Dust held her mouth agape, now aware of how much she truly missed while she was gone. She checked the date on the letter and swallowed dryly.
“January 8th”
What was today? She checked her calendar and nearly fell out of her chair as she read the date silently to herself.
“January 16th”
“I’m bucked….” She quickly announced with a gasp.
She suddenly heard the sound of hooves landing and moving towards her door. She quickly but silently dove to turn off the lights and hid underneath the table she was eating at.
As the hoof steps drew closer and closer, she confirmed the there were in fact two ponies present. She also was able to distinctly hear the voices of a familiar scratchy sounding mare and an unknown stallion.
“She must be here somewhere, she took her mail inside,” the mare concluded.
“Well, I’m not so sure. She must’ve seen the letter and ran off somewhere. The lights are off and I can’t see or hear anything inside,” the stallion persuaded.
Lightning Dust remembered the name of the mare as soon as she spoke…Rainbow Dash. The stallion was Soarin, second in command of the Wonderbolts, whom she had briefly seen and spoke to on her first day at the academy.
"If only I dragged my ass home a day earlier instead of partying with the rest of the Washouts, I would’ve been fine. I’m completely bucking screwed,” Lightning Dust said with remorse, nervousness and fear quickly setting in for her.
As she crouched under the table cowering with the thought of being captured, she heard the two ponies outside turning and launching off of her doorstep. As she looked outside, she noticed the cyan mare's rainbow mane and the blue stallion's dark blue mane.
"SOARIN TOO?!" she yelled.
She had pushed her limits in the academy, but Rainbow Dash was both faster and stronger than her. But Soarin was definitely able to take her down himself; he was the Wonderbolt's second in command after all. She climbed out from under the table, flew up the stairs and entered her room. She decided then and there to get the hell out of Cloudsdale and hideout somewhere unsuspecting.
But where would she go?