The Wonderbolts were performing at the Cloudeseum in Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash, who had recently made it through her month of probation, was proudly flying alongside her new teammates. The crowd cheered as the Wonderbolts performed their routine. Rainbow always loved being cheered on, but since Cloudsdale was her home town, the cheering felt especially good. It was, after all, during her childhood in Cloudsdale where her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt was born. And after finally achieving her dream, she felt like it was her duty to show all her neighbors and fellow Cloudsdaleans that one of their own had made it to the top.
The Wonderbolts finished their routine be spiralling upwards, then breaking apart and descending, coming back into formation to dive past the crowd, who cheered, and beat their their hooves in appreciation.
'Livin' the dream, Dash.' Rainbow told herself as she drank in the applause. 'Livin' the dream...'
The Wonderbolts landed on the highest clouds of the arena, bowing and waving to their adoring public, before descending to exit level.
"Nice flying out there, Crash." Soarin' smiled as the Wonderbolts made their way toward the crowd for the obligatory facetime and autograph-signing.
"You too, Clipper." Rainbow smirked.
"Lucky it was a nice, clear sky, huh newbie?" Spitfire grinned. "No clouds for you to fly into this time."
"Ha-ha." Rainbow rolled her eyes, recalling the disastrous course of events that led to her probation in the first place. "Very funny."
"Hey, I told you I wasn't going to let you forget that little fiasco." Spitfire snorted.
"Yeah, well, I'm gonna have a hard time forgetting it myself." Rainbow joked. "Still got a bruise or two left over..."
"I'm not surprised." Spitfire chuckled. "That was an epic crash."
"No kidding." Rainbow chuckled.
As the Wonderbolts split up to handle more fans, Rainbow was approached by three familiar stallions: Hoops, Score, and Dumb-Bell,.
"Hey, Rainbow cr- I mean, Dash." Hoops said awkwardly.
"Hey... you guys." Rainbow said, just as awkwardly. While the stallion trio had resolved their differences with her the last time they met, Rainbow was still a little wary about her old bullies.
"We caught the show." Score declared. "It was something else."
"Yeah, nice moves up." Dumb-Bell admitted.
"Ah, thanks." Rainbow smirked.
"You really did it." Hoops nodded. "You really became a Wonderbolt. Congrats."
"Now I really feel bad about calling you 'Rainbow Crash' all the time." Dumb-Bell added.
"Forget about it." Rainbow shrugged. "It's just a name."
After her initial horror over the Wonderbolts adopting the nickname Rainbow had been saddled with during flight school, she had gradually gotten used to it. Like the other nicknames the Wonderbolts used for each other, it had become more like a friendly jab than a hurtful insult.
"So what's it like, hanging with the Wonderbolts?" Score asked.
"Awesome, duh!" Rainbow smirked.
"Knew it." Hoops grinned. "And here we are, working at the boring old cloud factory."
"It's not always boring." Dumb-Bell pointed. "Remember last winter? There was this weird malfunction, and like, a ton of snow just blasted out of there!"
"No kidding?" Rainbow said nervously, eyes darting from side to side. "How did that happen?"
"Who knows?" Score shrugged. "Maybe some doofus made a mistake with the snow intake. It happens."
"Yeah, it does." Rainbow smiled. "Some doofus screws up, and makes a big mess..."
"Tell us about it." Hoops snorted. "Bet you don't see screw ups like that with the Wonderbolts."
"You'd be surprised." Rainbow shrugged. "But I'm still just a rookie. Even training at the Academy couldn't prepare for everything."
"Funny, we got a new co-worker at the factory lately who went to Wonderbolts Academy too." Hoops declared.
"No kidding?" Rainbow mused.
"Yeah." Score nodded. "She flunked out, though."
"That's too bad." Rainbow frowned.
"Not that we mind." Dumb-Bell grinned. "She's a real ton of fun."
"You don't say." Rainbow noted. "Hey, maybe we met during training at the Academy. What's her name?"
"Lightning." Score answered.
"Lightning?" Rainbow frowned. "As in Lightning-"
"Lightning Dust." A very familar green mare approached the group.
"You." Rainbow frowned.
"Speak a' the devil." Hoops smiled. "Hey, Dusty. This is our old classmate from flight school, Rainbow-"
"Hey, Dash." Lightning Dust scowled at Rainbow. "Long time, no see."
"Not long enough, if you ask me..." Rainbow growled.
"Oh, so you have met." Dumb-Bell said awkwardly.
"Oh, yeah." Rainbow nodded. "We actually were in the same class at Wonderbolts Academy."
"You're doing pretty well for yourself, aren't you?" Lightning noted. "Finally flying with the Wonderbolts, like you always said you would."
"Yep." Rainbow nodded. "Saw the show, did you?"
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Lightning Dust said coldly. "You had some pretty lousy form up there, if you ask me. Can't imagine why the Wonderbolts asked you to join them..."
"Maybe because I'm just that good." Rainbow snorted.
"Please." Lightning Dust scowled. "I was always the best flyer out of the two of us... Wingpony."
"In your dreams, washout!" Rainbow growled.
"Uh... are we missing something?" Hoops cringed, totally lost and unnerved by the two mares' animosity.
"Yeah, because it kinda sounds like you two hate each other." Score added.
"That's because I do hate Rainbow." Lightning Dust spat. "It's because of her that I got kicked out of the Wonderbolts Academy! She was jealous that I was better than her, so she went whining to Spitfire."
"Whoa, really?" Dumb-Bell gaped.
"No, not really." Rainbow snarled. "I didn't get her kicked out because I was jealous. I got her kicked out because she whipped up a huge tornado that knocked a balloon with my Ponyville friends in it out of the sky. They almost went splat because of her, and she didn't even care!"
"Seriously?" Hoops gaped. "I've done some rotten stuff before, but never anything that bad!"
"That is just... yikes." Dumb-Bell frowned.
"And we were just having lunch with her yesterday..." Score glared.
Lightning Dust shrank slightly under her co-workers' stunned and disgusted faces.
"I had no choice but to tell Spitfire about her recklessness." Rainbow growled. "I couldn't let her get away with something like that."
"And in doing so, you got me kicked out." Lightning Dust growled. "And for what? It's not like those friends of yours had any business being there in the first place."
"So they deserved to fall out of the sky, just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Rainbow snarled. "I don't think so!"
"Well, thanks to you, I got kicked out of the Academy." Lightning Dust seethed. "With my hopes of being a Wonderbolt crashing and burning, I had no choice but to get a job at the cloud factory. Even though it paid better than I thought, and I made some great new friends..." She glanced at the stallions, who stood there awkwardly. "It still didn't make up for the fact that I'd lost the one chance I had to make my dreams come true!"
"Cry me a river." Rainbow snorted.
"That should have been me up there today." Lightning Dust glanced up at the sky. "Me flying alongside the Wonderbolts, getting all the glory, and all the fame."
"Shoulda, coulda, woulda." Rainbow sneered. "You're just not Wonderbolt material, Lightning Dust. Simple as that."
"Says who?" Lightning Dust spat.
"Says the pony who actually became a Wonderbolt." Rainbow said coldly.
"Well, maybe I would've been the Wonderbolt if you hadn't gotten me kicked out!" Lightning Dust growled.
"Not likely." Rainbow retorted. "If that tornado didn't get you kicked out of the Academy, then some other whacked-out stunt of yours would've done the trick."
"I don't do 'whacked-out stunts'." Lightning Dust glared. "That tornado put our team up on top. It was an epic move."
"Epicly dumb." Rainbow frowned. "A big ol' tornado just to get rid of a few clouds? Talk about overkill..."
"Whatever. You ruined my dream, Dash." Lightning Dust snarled.
"You ruined it yourself!" Rainbow shot back. "You're way too reckless to be a Wonderbolt. And Spitfire agreed with me after I told her what you did."
"I'll bet you blew it all outta proportion, just to make me look bad!" Lightning Dust snarled.
"I just told her the truth." Rainbow retorted. "And for the record, you don't need anypony to make you look bad. You did a great job of that by yourself. Maybe if you thought about somepony other than yourself a little more often, you might have had a chance at being one of us! We could have been a real team, flying together!"
"I don't ever want to be on the same team as you ever again." Lightning Dust scowled. "You were supposed to be my wingpony, but you went behind my back. I don't need teammates like you. Not when I have co-workers who actually appreciate my efforts." She turned toward the stallions. "Right, guys?"
"I don't think so." Hoop snarled.
"What?" Lightning Dust frowned.
"You just keep away from us." Dumb-Bell glared at her.
"But... I thought you guys liked me." Lightning Dust cringed. "We were hanging out after work just yesterday!"
"That was before we found out what a jerk you are!" Score spat. "You almost made a bunch of ponies go splat, and you didn't even care? What kind of nutjob are you?"
"I.. I..." Lightning Dust quivered.
"I'm no saint, but at least I know the stuff I did before was wrong." Hoops growled. "But let's face it, I was just a bully. You've done way worse, and won't even admit it was bad. I don't think I can hang out with a pony like you any more."
"Me neither." Dumb-Bell agreed.
"You got that right." Score nodded.
Lightning Dust glanced at her now ex-friends, her eyes filling with tears.
"Thanks a lot, Dash." She glared at Rainbow. "Just when I thought I was moving on, you ruined my life... again! You've turned my friends against me, just like you did the Wonderbolts. You just won't be happy until I've got nothing left, will you?"
Despite their animosity, Rainbow couldn't help but be perturbed by the obvious pain and anguish on Lightning Dust's face. Her anger faded slightly, with a twinge of empathy growing within her.
"Lightning, I-" She started.
"Forget it." Lightning Dust spat, blinking back the tears. "I'm outta here!"
Lightning Dust flew off, utterly distraught. Rainbow felt a bad surge of guilt rising inside her.
"Good riddance." Hoops spat. "Can't believe we were actually hanging around with a pony as rotten as her, and didn't even know it."
"Yeah, no kidding." Score sneered, while Dumb-Bell shook his head in disbelief.
"Look, guys..." Rainbow shook her head, struggling to say the words floating in her head. "I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but... maybe you should give her another chance."
"Say what?!" Hoops gaped. "After what she's done?"
"Are you nuts?" Score asked.
"Hear me out." Rainbow urged. "Lightning Dust deserved to get thrown out of the Academy after what she did. I had to make that happen. But I didn't have to cost her her friends, or ruin the life she made after getting drummed of the Academy. She didn't do anything to deserve that."
"Youre sticking up for her?" Dumb-Bell frowned. "Why?"
"I hate to say it, but Lightning Dust and me are actually a lot alike." Rainbow admitted. "When we first met, we became instant buds. We were a real team, birds of a feather, both striving to be the best. And I get the feeling she hates being alone just as much as I do."
"So you want us to make up with her?" Hoops asked. "After what she did?"
"I've known worse ponies in my time." Rainbow admitted. "And I've learned that some get better after being shown some kindness, and friendship. You guys didn't use to be so nice, remember?"
"Well, yeah..." Hoops said awkwardly.
"But ponies change." Rainbow pointed out. "Sometimes with a little help."
"Well... who says we want to help her?" Score frowned.
"Fair point." Rainbow admitted. "...How about you do it as a favor to me? You do kinda owe for all those years you made fun of me."
"She's got us there." Dumb-Bell admitted.
"Why are you so interested, anyway?" Hoops asked. "You were really tearing into Lightning earlier."
"You're right, I'm not exactly Lightning Dust's biggest fan." Rainbow noted. "But maybe if you guys stay her friends, she might just become a better pony. Besides, it sounded like you guys really liked her."
"Yeah, she was kinda fun..." Score mused.
"Remember the time she pranked Dumb-Bell by filling his locker with hailstones?" Hoops snorted. "That was hilarious!"
"For you, maybe." Dumb-Bell frowned. "But it was a riot when she put a snow cloud in the break room!"
"So she has her good side, after all." Rainbow smiled. "But that side's not gonna get to do much without friends around to help it grow. And you are her friends."
"Still as stubborn as ever, huh Dash?" Hoops rolled his eyes.
"Oh, yeah." Rainbow nodded. "So whattaya say? Think you can give her one more chance?"
The stallions shared looks.
"...I think we can." Hoops nodded.
"Yep." Dumb-Bell nodded.
"For you, Dash." Score agreed. "So you can consider us even."
"Awesome." Rainbow nodded.
"Hey, newbie!" Spitfire called, she and the rest of the Wonderbolts overhead. "Time to go!"
"Comin', Cap!" Rainbow called. She then turned to the stallions. "Gotta jet, guys. Remember what we talked about."
"You can count on us, Dash." Hoops nodded."Now you get up there, where you belong."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Rainbow grinned.
Rainbow flew up to join her fellow Wonderbolts.
"What kept you?" Soarin' asked.
"Just catchin' up with some old friends." Rainbow declared.
"Okay team, let's do one quick flyby, then head back to HQ!" Spitfire ordered.
The Wonderbolts flew over the stadium in perfect formation, followed by the rest of Cloudsdale. As they flew, Rainbow saw her former bullies with Lightning Dust, just ahead. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could see Hoops place a comforting hoof on her shoulder, with Score and Dumb-Bell moving in closer, followed shortly by Lighting Dust hugging all three with her hooves and wings.
'That's the ticket.' She thought. 'Maybe having a few good friends will make Lightning Dust a better pony after all. Here's hopin'...'
On that optimistic note, Rainbow flew out of Cloudsdale alongside her fellow Wonderbolts, ready to call it a day, with hope that tomorrow would be better for a certain old acquaintance of hers.