"Look Spit, you may want to fly professionally, and don't get me wrong I do too, but don't you think we should have something to fall back on?" Lightning asked as he was walking the streets of Cloudsdale with Spitfire.
"Oh come on featherbrain, we all graduated school with top marks. Anypony would be glad to hire us." Spitfire said.
"Yes, but it seems all the pegasi are either going into entertainment or weather patrol, and I can't live off the few bits a week I get from working part-time at the mail delivery service." Lightning said.
"And what would you rather do featherbrain?" Spitfire asked.
"I'm going to go to college and study to be a doctor until I'm old enough to join the military." Lightning Blaze replied.
"You're just going to drop out of a medical degree to join the military?" Spitfire asked.
"That's the plan." Lightning replied
"Do you know what tuition is these days?" Spitfire asked, surprised.
"Have you forgotten what family I come from?" Lightning said. "My grades, coupled with my family means that I have schools practically tripping over themselves trying to give me scholarships and free tuition. Won't it be a shock when I drop out three months into the year, just to be a field medic in the Equestrian Military?"
"I guess." Spitfire said.
three months pass uneventfully
“These all seem to be in order.” The pegasus at the recruitment building said. “Report to Charleston Strip at oh-seven hundred tomorrow.” He said, stamping the pages and handing them back to Lightning.
“Will do.” Lightning said. “Man, did it have to be seven in the morning?” He thought. “I hate getting up early” Lightning made it home late, after hanging around with his friends from school, Soarin’ and Spitfire.
"Oh yeah, we got hired." Spitfire had said.
"We were approached a representative from something called "Project Wonderbolt" we are to report to Charleston Strip at seven in the morning tomorrow." Soarin' had finished.
"Will I be assigned to this "Project Wonderbolt"?" Lightning thought as he got into bed. "Surely it's just a coincidence. Right?" ... Right?
The next morning
Lightning quite literally rolled out of bed as his alarm went off at six the next morning.
"Six o'clock" Lightning thought. "That gives me an hour to eat and be on my way to Charleston Strip." He took a few bits with him for breakfast, seeing as he had somewhere to be, and left.
"Now, if I remember correctly, Charleston Strip isn't that far from here. Just a short flight." He said as he picked up something to eat and flew off for a base in a collection of clouds: Charleston Strip.
"Look who showed up." Spitfire said as Lightning landed.
"What do you mean? I'm not late am I?" Lightning asked.
"Not by too much." Soarin' said.
"Everypony fall in!" A drill sergeant yelled, and the cadets lined up quickly. "Now, you were called here to be a part of an experiment. So you are all going to march to J-gate! Move out!" The pegasi all began marching down the airstrip to a large hangar marked J.
"Here we will assess your skills to see who will move on in the program, and who will be reassigned." A unicorn in a labcoat said when they arrived.
"Look no further, you got your golden boy right here." A white and yellow pegasus said, pushing his way to the front of the crowd. "The name's Whitetail. Nice to meet ya." He said, sticking out his hoof for a shake, which the unicorn just stared at. "Or not." Whitetail said, moving back into the crowd.
"Follow me." The unicorn said, walking into the hangar.
Inside the hangar, it was built like a lab, with multiple rooms that made it seem like a completely different building.
"Woah." Lightning said, marveling at the lab.
"This way please." The scientist said, walking down a hallway into a room that was filled with monitors and equipment. "Here we will test your stamina and speed." The scientist said, noting the treadmills lined up on the walls. "Let's begin." The scientist said, leading everyone to a treadmill and hooking them up to the monitor next to each one. Every five minutes or so, the scientist would come around and turn the speed up. After a few turns, that pegasus from before, Whitetail, tripped and flew off the treadmill.
"Can I go again?" He asked, looking up at the scientist.
"No, we've seen enough." The scientist said, writing a note and levitating it to him. Whitetail looked sad as he left the building. A few others left, and by the end of the day, only six pegasi were left: Lightning Blaze, Soarin', Spitfire, and three strangers.
"We will now test your airborne endurance, speed, and agility." The scientist said. "Follow me to the airstrip." A large obstacle course was set up in the sky. "You will all make three laps around the course. Failure to do so will result in your re-assignment from the Wonderbolt Project." The scientist said. Three of the pegasi gulped. Lightning, Spitfire, and Soarin' looked nervous, but overall looked ready to fly.
"Ready" the scientist said. "Go." The six pegasi flew up and into the obstacle course. One of them failed after the first lap, and the other two crashed into each other and fell. Lightning, Soarin', and Spitfire made it through all three laps. "You three will report to J-gate tomorrow morning." The scientist said, walking away.
"Can you believe it? We're the last three!" Soarin' said.
"I wonder there'll be any more tests?" Spitfire said.
"Guess we'll just have to wait until tomorrow. I wonder if it will be before or after breakfast?" Lightning said.
"I think it would be after." Soarin' said as the three headed to their bunks (only two of the tests are written, but subjects had been eliminated all day).
The next morning Lightning got up and headed straight to the mess hall, where he got some breakfast, and sat down next to Soarin' and Spitfire.
"I wonder what's in store today? Will there be more tests, and if so, who will be eliminated from the program next?" Lightning asked.
"You worry too much." Soarin' said.
"Let's just eat and get to J-gate." Lightning said.
"Today we initiate phase 2 of the Wonderbolt Project. If you will follow me one at a time beyond this door, we will begin."
"I guess I'll go first." Spitfire said, following the scientist behind the door. They returned a few minutes later, and Spitfire looked incredibly sick.
"Spitfire, are you-" Soarin' started.
"She needs rest." The scientist said. "Who's next?"
"I guess I am." Soarin' said, following the scientist, Spitfire being escorted by two other scientists. Soarin' appeared a few minutes later, in the same state that Spitfire was in.
"You're next." The scientist said, leading Lightning into a large room with a platform in the middle with a large ring on it. There were four alcoves: two on the floor, and two on the ring.
"Put your hooves in the alcoves please." A scientist behind a monitor said. Lightning did so, and before he could think otherwise, cylinders shot out of the alcoves, holding him in place.
"I wish I could say this won't hurt a bit, but that would be a lie." The main scientist said, filling a syringe with grey liquid from a vial. Lightning whimpered slightly as the scientist drove the syringe into Lightning's chest, emptying its contents.
"Charge them up." She said to the scientists behind the monitor.
"Brace yourself." One of them said as a buzzing filled the air. The ring was electrocuted, and so was Lightning. This continued for a few minutes before the electricity stopped and the cylinders retracted. Lightning fell to the floor and he got an unsettling feeling in his stomach as his breakfast decided to say hello.
"Get used to it. Your body doesn't like what we injected you with." The scientist said, standing above Lightning.
"What was that?" Lightning asked.
"The future." The scientist replied, helping Lightning up and out of the building.
The rest of his day, and a few days after, was filled with him feeling sick, and resting. When he woke up on the fifth day, he noticed something was different. He felt better than he did before, and could see a lot better as well, even before they had stuck him with that… whatever that was.
"What in the?" Lightning said.
"Rise and shine." Spitfire said.
"You're looking... different." Lightning said, noticing Spitfire's mane and tail looked different.
"I could say the same about you. Here, we got uniforms." Spitfire said, taking a uniform and goggles out of the bags she was wearing. Lightning took the uniform and goggles, and went into a room with a mirror. He took one look in the mirror, and looked again to make sure he was seeing everything alright. His mane and tail were both longer, and both blue, versus the brown that they were before.
"I look like a showpony." Lightning said, putting on his uniform. He put the goggles on his forehead, and said "now I really look like a showpony." Lightning walked out of the room.
"The uniform suits you." Spitfire said.
"I'm getting to the bottom of this." Lightning said.
"You haven't even had any breakfast yet. Aren't you hungry?" Spitfire asked.
"Now that you mention it, I'm starving. But food can wait." Lightning said. "It's weird how hungry I am." He thought as he walked to J-gate.
"What's the deal here?!" Lightning asked the head scientist at J-gate.
"I guess you do deserve an explanation of what exactly phase 2 is." The scientist said. "Bring your friends."
"We have enhanced you all with micro machines that will grant you various abilities due to symbiosis with your blood, and thus you." The scientist said when the three were gathered.
"That explains the vomiting. Like you said, our bodies didn't like what you stuck us with." Lightning said.
"You said these machines will grant us abilities... like a superhero?" Soarin' asked.
"More or less." The scientist replied.
"Like what?" Spitfire asked.
"Without any extra effort, you are stronger, faster, more agile, can see better, and you can see in the dark." The scientist said.
"And what can we do with effort?" Lightning asked.
"So much." The scientist said.
"Like...?" Soarin' said, leaning forward.
"Let us begin then." The scientist said, leaving the room.
"Your first ability you will be learning is the disguise matrix." The scientist said. "The nanobots can control your colors and hair length, but not your body shape or size."
"How does it work?" Lightning asked.
"They collect just underneath your skin and change color, and as for hair length, they can build up outside your body in a loose hair like substance." The scientist said.
"How do we make it work?" Soarin' asked.
"Think of a pony, and think 'activate disguise matrix'. The nanobots are everywhere in your body, so they can read your thoughts and transmit commands with each other." The scientist said.
The rest of the day, and for months after, were spent mastering various abilities, eventually ending with the elemental aspect, and Soarin' and Spitfire quitting.
"You're what?" Lightning asked, shocked.
"This military life just ain't our bit. We're moving on." Soarin' said.
"Forget being hired into an entertainment group, we're going to be an entertainment group. We're going to call ourselves the Wonderbolts, after this project." Spitfire said.
"We've been in this for months, and you're just quitting?" Lightning asked.
"Yes." Soarin' said.
"Catch you later, I hope." Spitfire said, the two taking off into the sunset.
"See ya." Lightning said, walking sadly to his bunk.
During the night, the communicator that they had been using for practice exercises and runs started beeping.
"Who could be calling this late?" Lightning asked himself tiredly. He put the communicator and activated it.
"Everything you think you know about project Wonderbolt is a lie." A male voice said.
"What-I-"
"don't understand. Of course you don't. You think they would just tell you?" The voice interjected.
"Hold on. Slow down. What are you talking about?" Lightning asked, suddenly very awake.
"I can't just tell you, I have to show you. Make your way to the security room in J-gate and access the third monitor on the right. Don't just sit there, move! Double time!" The voice said. Lightning got up and began jogging to J-gate.
"Good, you found your way to the security room. Now put on the headset and look at the third monitor." The voice said when he snuck his way into the security room.
"Okay." Lightning said, doing as the voice said.
"Are we ready for phase 3?" The scientist said.
"We've almost isolated the command signal." Another scientist said.
"Soon, we will have the most powerful weapon in the world. Lightning Blaze will sleep, and never wake up. His body will serve Equestria for as long as it will last. He will know no pain, he will know no fear." The scientist said.
"Does that sound good to you? They plan on making you into a tool featherbrain!" The voice said.
"Yeah, I got that. What do you suppose I do?" Lightning asked.
"If you can get to the train station, I can get you out of Equestria, and out of broadcast range. But you unlikely hero types would likely prefer this not be allowed to happen to anypony else, so if you can overload the generators and servers, all their work will be gone." The voice said.
"Lead me to the generators." Lightning said.
"They're in the back of the facility. There... was a few patrols back there, but I just took care of them. Aren't I a good friend?" The voice said, pausing for a good minute or so.
"I guess." Lightning said.
"Now get back there and take out the generator. A good zap ought to do it." The voice said.
“Al-alright then.” Lightning said. He knew he had the ability to generate electricity, but he hadn’t quite got a handle on it yet.
“There shouldn’t be any problems on they way to the generator.” The voice said. “Get moving!” Lightning snuck his way out of the hangar, moving quietly in case anyone was still inside. He met no one on his way to the hangar’s small generator. Lightning took a deep breath.
“Right.” he said, putting his front hooves on the generator. “A good zap ought to do it.” He flapped his wings furiously- the only way he found so far that generated electricity. A massive jolt ran through the generator as it started smoking. "Good." Lightning said. He put his hoof on the communicator in his ear to make sure it was still working
"hello?" He asked.
"I redirected reserve battery power from a place that... isn't so important, just so we can keep up this lovely conversation. Isn't that great?" The voice said.
"Yeah. Magnificent. Where's the servers so I can get out of here?" Lightning said.
"They're in the main research room. The servers also double as the central memory and research storage, so when you shut that down, that's going to hurt." The voice replied.
"I think I know where that is." Lightning said.
"Of course you do. They've locked no doors to you and you've been here for months." The voice said.
"Wires. Wires everywhere. Make a mess." The voice said when Lightning found the servers. "After that, you're on your own."
"Why?" Lightning asked.
"They told me you were intelligent. Everything relies on those servers." The voice replied.
"What about you?" Lightning asked.
"I'm fresh from the upper level of Cloudsdale weather. Freaky stuff goes on there. Maybe we'll see each other again." The voice said. "By the way, your friends didn't leave, they failed." At that the sound of a microphone hitting something was heard as the voice was heard yelling insanely about voices in his head.
"Here goes." Lightning said, grabbing a hoofull of wires and pulling, electricity sparked through the wires, through him, and into a pony who had just touched him. Lightning whipped around to see the leader on the ground.
"Are you okay?" Lightning asked, gently kicking the body, a fearful realization spreading over him. "Get up. Please, for my sake, get up." He said, tears welling in his eyes as a sick feeling rose in his stomach.
"Oh my. I've-I've killed somepony!" He said, panicking. "Gotta-gotta get out of here." He said, running out the front doors, to be met by not just the sunlight, but a green unicorn, the white pegasus from the trials, and a white unicorn with a blue mane.
"Why would the captain of the guards apprentice be seeing me?" Lightning asked.
"We've picked you for a special squadron." Shining Armor said.
"But we need a fourth. Unicorn preferably." The pegasus said.
"I know a guy. Works for the smithy here." Lightning said.
"Take us to him." The pegasus replied.
Lightning nodded, flying off towards Canterlot's barracks, relishing in the feeling of Freedom, Flight, and Sunlight.