//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Invitation to Awesomeness // Story: The Wonderbolts Cup // by Albi //------------------------------// The Wonderbolts Cup Chapter 1: Invitation to Awesomeness Rainbow Dash screamed. However, if you asked her later she would say it was not a girly high-pitched scream like everypony thought they heard; no it was a very tough action-y type of scream, the kind only given by professional athletes and adventurers. She stared, transfixed at the piece of paper in her hooves. Her eyes scanned over it repeatedly while she breathed, “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh.” It was then that she felt the stares of several ponies on her. She turned around and gave a sheepish grin to the ponies of the marketplace who had stopped their shopping thanks to blue pegasus’ outburst. Rainbow Dash cleared her throat, “Ahem, nothing to see here folks, just got some exciting news, that’s all. Go back to doing… whatever you were doing heh, heh.” The crowd shrugged and returned to their daily business, while Rainbow Dash, with paper in hoof, took to the skies leaving a rainbow contrail in her wake. She decided to head home where she could squee like a filly in peace. It was a beautiful, sunny, and cloudless afternoon in Ponyville, thanks to Rainbow Dash and her weather team having cleared out all of the clouds earlier that morning. Rainbow enjoyed her handy work as she soared over the town, taking in the warm sunlight and sweet blue skies that graced the day. Her cloud home floated on the outskirts of Ponyville over a nice grassy field. She landed below her home and trotted over to a small clear pond where an old tortoise (or at least he looked old, Rainbow had never asked Fluttershy his age) was peacefully sunbathing on its shores. He looked up at the approaching mare and slowly smiled. “Hey, Tank, I got some more food for ya,” Rainbow said as she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a bag of fresh lettuce. That had been the reason she had traveled to the market in the first place. Despite what a lot of ponies thought, Rainbow took very good care of her pet. She tore the bag open and dropped a hoof full of lettuce right in front of him before tucking the bag away to store for later. Tank began to (slowly) munch on his lunch while Dash petted his head. “You eat up buddy, your pal Rainbow Dash has some things to do.” Without waiting for a response, the chromatic pegasus shot up to her cloud home. She stepped through the door and dropped her saddlebag unceremoniously next to the door. Remembering the rest of Tank’s food, she rummaged through the bag until she found it and made her way into the kitchen to put it away in the fridge. As one could imagine, everything in Rainbow Dash’s home was made out of clouds; cloud chairs, cloud tables, and even a cloud refrigerator. It was made out of highly condensed and very cold Nimbostratus clouds that produced enough chill to keep things stored within them fresh for days. Rainbow tossed the bag inside and took off for her room upstairs. Anyone who looked at Rainbow’s room could get a pretty good idea of her interests and hobbies. The room was adorned with Wonderbolt posters, figurines, and other signed memorabilia. Next to her cloud bed was a stack of every Daring Do book in the series so far. And on a shelf next to the window was a wide array of pictures depicting action shots of the athletic pegasus herself, or group shots of her and her best friends. Rainbow Dash leapt onto her bed and landed on her back with her hooves stretched out in front of her still holding the most exciting piece of news she had gotten in a while. Knowing that there was nopony else around to judge her, she let out a loud squee of delight before reading the paper again out loud: “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and The Wonderbolts are proud to present: The first international Skyball tournament The Wonderbolts Cup One team from each town/city is allowed to participate. The tournament will follow standard Skyball rules. Nine players are allowed for each team. All participating teams must sign up at Canterlot Castle on August 10th. The winning team will be awarded 1,000,000 in prize money and a chance to play one final game against The Wonderbolts themselves. All participants must be 18 years or older and must be of a winged species. All revenue will be directed to the Hurricane Randy relief fund.” Rainbow Dash’s smile faltered a little as she read the last sentence. Right, she thought, the hurricane that tore up Baltimare two weeks ago. The Baltimare weather patrol team had thought it was just a small ocean storm and decided to let it run its course thinking it would blow over in a day or two. They would have been right if a warm low-pressure system hadn’t moved in from the south and merged with the storm. By the time the pegasi realized what was happening, it was too late. The damage had been extensive too say the least. Much of the city and the adjoining Horseshoe Bay had been devastated by the super storm. Thankfully nopony had been killed and few had been injured; but thousands were now homeless. Indeed, Rainbow Dash felt bad for everypony living in Baltimare. She shuttered to think what it would be like to be homeless, then again she had five awesome friends that she could depend on if anything like that happened. Still, Rainbow’s spirit could not be brought down. A chance to professionally play her favorite sport and, if she made it far enough, play it against the best flyers in all of Equestria! She could show them all of her awesome moves and stunts and get all of their autographs…again! She would be sharing a stage with Spitfire! That thought alone was enough to send Rainbow Dash spiraling into a fit of squee’s. This could be her ultimate chance to show them she was Wonderbolt material. Oh, and the prize money sounded pretty good too. Of course she’d have to split it nine ways, but that hardly mattered when placed next to the idea that she could be playing with The Wonderbolts! She leapt off of her bed and into the air, excitement and adrenaline pumping through her veins. “This is going to be the most epic thing in the history of awesomeness!” she declared. “I’m going to enter the Skyball tournament and I’m going to win!” She let the words wash over her for a moment, feeling the effects of her own charisma before a thought popped into her head. “But, I’m gonna need a team first.” It was time for a pegasi town meeting.