Episode 9: Skies of Glory
“Pinkie,” Twilight said as she pulled herself from the mangled front of the core lander. “How did you manage to hit a tree? The core lander is designed with software to make sure that these things don’t happen.”
“Just bad luck I guess,” Pinkie replied.
“You sure you didn’t fall asleep again while driving?”
“Oh come on, that was just that one time—”
“Because I can’t think of any other way for you to have hit the only tree for miles in something designed to not hit things!” It was true. After leaving New Stalliongrad and the snowy northern lands, the two mares had made their way across the vast plains of Equestria where trees were indeed few and far between.
“I said I was sorry…”
Twilight sighed at her friend. It was getting the two of them nowhere to be complaining like this. “I know Pinkie. How about I drive for a bit when we get this all fixed up and you get some rest? I mean, we’re supposed to be on vacation, right?”
Pinkie brightened up a little and nodded her head in agreement.
“There we go then.” Twilight returned her attention to the front end of the core lander. “Can you get the tool kit out of the back please?”
“Sure, Twi.” Pinkie went to the rear of the core lander and retrieved the tool kit, and as she was bringing it back around to the front, a ringing coming from inside distracted her. She dropped the tool kit and found the source of the ringing: her communicator.
She picked it up and a pair of familiar voices came from it.
“Hey, hey,” the younger of the two said. “Do you think it went through this time?”
“Of course it did, kid,” the older said. “Rainbow Dash is an expert at technology.”
“So the past twelve failures are a sign of expertism?”
“Ok, so maybe I’m not an expert, Scoots.”
Twilight peeked her head around the side of the core lander at the fact that Pinkie had yet to return. “Hey, what’s going on over there?”
“I think RD and Scootaloo are on the communicator,” Pinkie replied as she picked said device up.
“They are? You should probably answer it then.” Twilight pulled herself back to the front of the vehicle but stopped and stuck her head back around the side. “And try to hurry please. This thing isn't going to fix itself.”
“You got it, Twi.” Pinkie placed raised the communicator to her face as Twilight pulled herself back to her job. There on the screen of the thing was Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo arguing about something. “Hiyas you two!”
Pinkie’s hello startled the two pegasi from their argument as they both crowded near whatever they were using to contact her.
“Pinks,” Rainbow said as she pushed Scootaloo away. “ How've ya been? What’cha been up to?”
“ I've been fine, RD. Just on a small vacation traveling ‘round Equestria.”
“That sounds like so much fun,” Scootaloo piped in as she forced her way back in front of Rainbow to get a better view of Pinkie. “All we've been doing over here is boring stuff like sitting in on meetings and going to school.”
“I told you that was how it was gonna be, Scoots.” Rainbow pushed Scootaloo away to the side again. “You gotta go to school so you can make your way in the world. I kinda wish I’d had the chance but let’s not go and get sappy. Anyways, great to hear you’re doing fine, Pinks.”
“Tell her about the thing! Tell her about the thing!” Scootaloo’s voice was filled with extreme anticipation and unrestrained joy.
Rainbow turned away towards where Scootaloo was. “You gotta give me a chance to tell her first.” She turned back to face Pinkie. “What Scoots is talking about is that there’s a big show that’s going to take place in Van Hoover and I—”
“Hey!”
“I mean, we, were wondering if you and Twi would like to come with us.”
“What kind of show is it?” Pinkie asked.
“The Wonderbolts!” Scootaloo jumped back into the frame and began hopping around happily.
“You mean Equestria’s number one flying team is holding a show again‽ I thought that they had disbanded after that horrible accident all those years ago?”
“Seems like the old team decided that it was time to push on and start back up.” Rainbow said over Scootaloo’s hopping joy. “Anyways, you in?”
“Hmm… give me a moment.” Pinkie set the communicator down and walked around to the front of the core lander. “Hey, Twilight?”
“Yes?” Twilight said as she pulled herself out from under the vehicle. “What is it?”
“RD invited us to see the Wonderbolts in Van Hoover. Wanna go?”
“The Wonderbolts? They’re back together‽”
“Yeah.”
“You tell Rainbow that we’ll be there, then get back up here so we can get this thing fixed. Van Hoover is some distance off.”
“You got it!” Pinkie returned to the side of the core lander and picked her communicator back up. “RD, we’ll see you in Van Hoover!”
“See ya in a week then! That is, the show’s in a week. Bye.”
“Bye, Pinkie!” The two pegasi waved at her as the screen cut off. Pinkie set the communicator back where it had been and picked up the toolkit she had dropped and hurried to Twilight and the fixing of the core lander.
Mobile Fighter G-Pony Episode 9
Skies of Glory
“Van Hoover is such a beautiful place isn’t it, Twilight?” Pinkie asked her friend as the two of them strode towards the city of Van Hoover. It was a large port city, set at the head of a bay leading out to the sea nestled nicely in a valley between a pair of snow-capped mountain ranges. Unlike many of the other large cities on the mainland of Equestria, Van Hoover had managed to keep itself prosperous due to being a valued tourist attraction as well as being one of the main hubs for trade by sea of the western coast of Equestria.
“It’s one of the most beautiful places in Equestria,” Twilight replied.
“And one of oldest, right? Founded just a few years after the start of the Princesses’ reign.”
“Why yes, that’s right, Pinkie.” Twilight stopped and looked at her friend with some pride in her eyes. “Looks like those history lessons are finally sinking in.”
“Nope, that sign over there says it.” Pinkie pointed towards a sign greeting all to the city. “See, ‘Welcome to Van Hoover, one of Equestria’s first cities. Founded 15 CL’. That’s fifteen years after Celestia and Luna right?”
Twilight shook her head and sighed before turning back towards the city. “One of these days, Pinkie, you’ll take your studies seriously.”
As Pinkie and Twilight continued on their way, their ears perked up as they heard a loud shout come from somewhere to their left.
“They’re here!” Then, swiftly following, an orange blur collided with Twilight and knocked her to the ground. “You’re here! You’re here! You’re here!”
“Hello to you too, Scootaloo,” Twilight said as she recognized the orange pegasus filly currently attached to her side. She looked to be doing much better than the last time she had seen her; relatively clean and not on the verge of starvation. Twilight gave the filly a bright smile and returned her hug. “How are you?”
“I’m just great!” Scootaloo replied. “Not only have I got to hang around with Rainbow Dash, but we’re here to see the Wonderbolts! Rainbow has told me all about them. Were they really the best fliers ever?”
“They were more than that, Scoots,” Pinkie said as she pulled her from Twilight and into a big hug of her own. “Best fliers, best acrobats, best stunt ponies; their shows were some of the most attended events ever.”
“So why did they break up?”
“Hey half-pint, how ‘bout we show Twilight and Pinks where we’re staying first?” Rainbow said as she walked up to the group, trying to steer away from that topic. “I’m sure that they’re tired of traveling and stuff.”
“Yeah,” Pinkie agreed as she freed Scootaloo and Twilight from her embrace. “We were way over near Stalliongrad when you called.”
“What were you doing over there?” Scootaloo asked.
“Well, that’s a long story. Wanna hear about it while we walk?”
“Yes!” Scootaloo ran off, followed shortly by the three mares.
“And then, that’s when I contacted them all directly and said that I was taking a vacation no matter what they said,” Pinkie said, regaling Scootaloo with the story of her return to the Ponyville colony. “And then I did just that, went on vacation!”
“Awesome!” Scootaloo said with wide-eyed enthusiasm. “What happened then‽”
“Well, after that, me and Twi decided to visit a town called Appleloosa…”
Twilight and Rainbow followed behind them, smiling as they watched the two.
“She seems to be doing a lot better than before, Rainbow,” Twilight said.
“Yeah,” Rainbow replied. “She’s acting more like a kid now and less like an adult since I managed to help her friends find families.”
“That was very generous of you.”
“I couldn’t just let them stay like they were. I saw myself in each of them and lent the hoof that I didn’t get.” Rainbow turned her attention back to Pinkie and Scootaloo. Pinkie had found a cloak from somewhere and stood atop a barrel illustrating some scene of her story. “And Scoots is a great kid, enthusiastic and hardworking. I’d be surprised if she didn’t manage to figure out how to make her own engine by the end of the month.”
“They learn so much when they’re that age.”
“So what were you and Pinks doing way out Stalliongrad way?” Rainbow asked.
“Just as Pinkie said,” Twilight replied. “A vacation to get herself back into shape for the tournament.”
“So, no word on her sisters then.”
“Yep.” The two turned their attention to Pinkie, and found that she was staring up at the roof of a nearby building. The raised their eyes and saw that Scootaloo had managed to get on top of the roof and was preparing to jump off.
“Kid, wait!” Rainbow shouted right as Scootaloo jumped, her wings flapping madly trying to give her the lift necessary to stay aloft. Then she fell. Before Rainbow could leap to her rescue, a streak of blue flew by and caught Scootaloo before she’d dropped too far.
“Whoa there, little one,” Scootaloo’s savior said as he gently set her down on the ground. He was a pale blue pegasus stallion with a dark blue mane and tail, his mane set into a slicked back style. He wore a blue formal shirt with three golden bars set on the sleeves and lightning bolt pins on the collar and a black tie that left his flank uncovered, showing his cutie mark, a yellow lightning bolt with a pair of white wings. “What were you doing jumping off that building? You could have gotten yourself hurt.”
“I’m sorry,” Scootaloo replied as she turned her eyes to the ground.
“Scootaloo,” Rainbow said as she flew over to the young pegasus. “What did I tell you about doing things like that? Your wings aren’t developed for flying yet.”
“I’m sorry...” Scootaloo replied, her words soft and on the verge of tears. “I just... I just wanted to show Pinkie I could fly...”
“It’s alright.” Rainbow pulled Scootaloo into a reassuring hug. “You’ll be ready soon. And then I'll personally teach you.”
During the whole transaction, the pegasus that had rescued Scootaloo stared dumbfounded at Rainbow. Then he found his voice. “Prism, is that you?”
“Huh?” Rainbow said as she turned to face him.
“No, it can’t be.” He took a good look at her. “And yet, the resemblance is uncanny... oh, I see”
“Who are you, and how do you know that name?”
“Oh, forgive me,” he said. “My name is Soarin.”
“Wait a minute,” Pinkie said. “You don’t mean Soarin of the Wonderbolts, do you?”
“I guess I do look a bit different when I don’t have the flying uniform on,” Soarin replied as a smile grew on his face and he let out a short laugh. “Yes, I am Soarin of the Wonderbolts.”
The four mares all froze up at that, Rainbow’s and Scootaloo’s mouths hanging slightly open in astonishment. After a moment of silence, Rainbow let out a fan girlish squeal and began to jump about.
“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!” she shouted. “It really is Soarin of the Wonderbolts!”
“I take it you’re a fan then?”
“Oh am I!” Rainbow bounded right up close to him. “I saw all the shows I could when I was younger. You were the greatest, coolest, and most awesome fliers of all times!”
“And what about you three?” Soarin asked the others.
“I went to a few shows when you were still performing,” Twilight replied. “My parents took my brother and me.”
“Same here!” Pinkie said. “They were awesome. All the tricks and stunts and the dangerous things that you did made gasp at every turn!”
“Rainbow Dash’s told me all about you!” Scootaloo piped in. “I’m not old enough to have actually seen one of your shows, but I’m really looking forward to it! And thank you for saving me!” She moved quickly up to Soarin and hugged his leg before jumping back with a buzz of her wings.
“Nothing to it, little one, always good to meet fans.” Soarin gave the group another smile. “Hey, I have an idea. How about you four come with me to meet the rest of the group?”
“You mean it‽” Rainbow gasped.
"Of course, Rainbow Dash. And what about you three?” To that, Pinkie, Twilight, and Scootaloo all nodded in agreement. “Ok then, just follow me and you won’t be stopped by security.” Soarin began to wander off down the street followed by Pinkie and Scootaloo.
“Oh my gosh!” Rainbow said again. “I can’t believe I get to meet the Wonderbolts personally!”
“Um, Rainbow,” Twilight said, pulling her back to the present. “Did you ever tell him what your name was?”
“Um... no. No I didn’t.”
“Then how did he know it?” The two turned a wary eye towards the stallion.
“Hey, what's keeping the two of ya?” Pinkie called back from down the road.
“Yeah, hurry up!” Scootaloo shouted as well.
“Come on, Twilight,” Rainbow said, placing a leg around the unicorn's shoulders. “We can think on that later. We've got famous ponies to meet.”
Soarin led the group through the city to a large field resting just outsides it's limits between the sea and the mountains. Sitting at it's head was a large blue and white tent with the Wonderbolts' insignia, a winged lightning bolt similar to Soarin's own cutie mark, emblazoned on the entrance flap.
“Welcome to Casa de Wonderbolts,” he said as he waved a hoof in the tent's direction. “At least for the time we're here in Van Hoover. Come in, come in; no need to stand around outside when we can go in.” Without waiting for a reply, he flung open the entrance and strode in.
“Honey! I'm home! And I brought guests.”
A collective groan came from the ponies that were inside. As Rainbow and the others entered, they saw that there were ten other ponies, all members of the Wonderbolts.
“Soarin, what have we told you about coming back like that?” One, a light blue pegasus mare with a pure white mane and tail, styled in the same fashion as Soarin's, and a cutie mark of a winged horse shoe, said.
“Oh come on, Fleetfoot. Don't be like that, it's all in good jest,” Soarin replied, thumping the mare on the shoulder.
“You tell that to Spits when she gets back. You know how she can get.”
“She can be a real hot head,” another Wonderbolt, a white coated and fire haired pegasus stallion still wearing half his flight suit said jokingly.
“You're the real know it all on that, eh, Firestreak?” another mare, a pure white one with a curly blond mane and tail added in to a rousing round of laughter from the rest of those in the tent.
“Always the funny one, Surprise,” Firestreak said pulling her into a friendly hug.
“As you can see, we are a tight knit bunch here,” Soarin said, turning back towards Rainbow and the others. “Anyways, everypony! As I was saying, we have guests here with us today. Go ahead and introduce yourselves to ”
“Rainbow Dash! I'm your biggest fan. You all have been my inspiration for my life so far.”
“My name is Twilight Sparkle, I was a fan of your groups show back when I was a little filly.”
“I'm Pinkie Pie! And I'm also a fan. I remember some of the old shows where everything was all whoosh and zoom and kaboom as you used all those great tricks and acts to dazzle everypony!”
“And I'm Scootaloo. I've never seen one of your shows, but I've heard alot about them and really want to see one.”
“You hear that, even a little filly like this is excited to hear that the Wonderbolts are back!” A loud rumble of stomps followed that. “Now, make sure you treat them like you'd treat any one of us, ya hear.”
Following that, Pinkie, Twilight, and Rainbow moved out into the crowd to mingle while Scootaloo stuck close to Soarin.
“'Something wrong there kid?”
“No, I was just wondering about why you all didn't do anything for the past ten years,” Scootaloo said. “I asked the others, but they didn't seem to want to tell me.”
“That... is something that hits us all hard here. Back then, we were at the height of our fame, thousand upon thousand of ponies flocked to our shows from all across Equestria and the colonies.”
“So what happened?”
“There was an accident, a very very bad accident.”
~Ten Years Ago~
“So, as I was saying,” a pink pegasus mare with a blue mane and tail and a cutie mark of a pair of blue lightning bolts said as she was tinkering around with a pony suit engine. “You have to make sure that you set the proportions to the fuel and the 'special' fuel just right, else you'll fry out the engine. If you do that, there's a big chance that it'll go critical and explode!”
Sitting just beside her, was a young Soarin with a look of utter terror on his face. “Explode‽”
“Firefly, don't go scaring Soarin like that,” a large light blue pegasus stallion with a spiky rainbow colored mane and tail said as he walked into the hanger. “You know perfectly well that that engine is designed to contain any explosion.”
“You're no fun Prism. I just wanted to tease the kid.”
“Just don't do it too much, or he may develop a fear of the stuff. And we don't want that, he has a very promising career ahead of him I'd say.”
“Thank you, Mr. Prism Flash,” Soarin said after he calmed down.
“Don't worry about it. Now get going. The show's getting ready to start and you need to prep for your performance.”
“Aye aye, sir!” Soarin gave a quick salute before he ran from the hanger, leaving the two alone.
“What happens next?” Scootaloo asked as Soarin paused in his story.
“Impatient little one, ain't ya?” Soarin said with a laugh before returning to a more serious tone. “Well, I'm not entirely sure what happened directly after, and they were the only ones that were in the hanger at the time. So I'll just skip ahead to what I know.”
~Ten Years Ago~
“Welcome! Welcome, fans of all ages,” the Master of Ceremonies, dressed in a fine suit of Wonderbolt blue, addressed to the crowds. “We welcome you to experience the greatness that is Equestria's most daring, most extravagant, most awesome flight show ever!” The crowd roared with applause and cheers. “And we extend our thanks to the fine city of Manehatten for allowing us to perform here! Let's give them a round of applause!”
Soarin poked his head out from behind the flaps of the waiting tent and eyed the crowd that had come to see the show. “I can do this. I can do this,” he kept telling himself.
“Hey, Soarin.”
“Wha!” At the voice, he jumped back and fell over a yellow pegasus mare his age with brushed back mane and tail of two tones of orange. “Spitfire! What is it?”
“I was just making sure you were ready for everything,” she replied as she pulled herself out from under him. “We're on first, don't mess up out there.” She playfully punched him in the shoulder and left the tent, leaving Soarin to his own thoughts.
“I can do this, I can do this,” he said to himself again as he pulled himself back to his hooves. “It's just a performance in front of thousands of ponies...”
“Kid, you'll do just fine out there.” Firefly said, walking up with Prism.
“Yes, it's just as Fly said. You've been practicing hard for this show,” Prism added. “Go out there and inspire all those young pegasi to greatness. You're already a favorite of our daughter.”
“Yeah, our little Rainbow Dash just loves the shows. Go and show 'em the best you got!”
With a nod, Soarin turned and headed out to the show.
“Why is this story about you?” Scootaloo asked, stopping Soarin's story.
“Because I was there that day,” he replied. “And I'm the one telling it. Look, I'm trying to ease into what's about to happen. This next part was the end of the Wonderbolts for these past ten years.”
~Ten Years Ago~
The show had gone off without a hitch, everypony in attendance was in awe at the sights and delighted to be there.
“And now, for the grand finale, we have a pair that you all know very well, Cloudsdale's own Prism Flash and Firefly!” At the call, a rainbow streak flashed out into the center of the performance area and hovered at its center above the crowd.
“Hello Manehatten!” Prism Flash shouted to the cheers of everypony there. “Today, you get to witness a special spectacle not before seen in our show and quite frankly, I don't think it's been seen anywhere in Equestria or the colonies!”
He paused there and let the crowds cheer more before getting them to quiet down. “I’m sure that most of you ponies out there know what a pony suit is. And for those that don’t, well, this is a pony suit!”
He spun around and pointed to a bunch of large tents as smoke started to billow from beneath them. Then, a moment later, the tents burst apart as a pegasus model pony suit armored and painted in the fashion of the Wonderbolt flight suit launched itself into the air with a mighty flap of it wings aided by a torrent of thrust from jets lining the suit
“I give you the first prototype pony suit capable of sustainable flight! Built in tandem with some of the top pony suit designers and mechanics solely for your entertainment. Now, Firefly, kick in those afterburners!”
But whatever was supposed to happen at that point didn't. There was a loud explosion as several of the jets burst into flames, destabilizing the Wonderbolt's suit and sending it slamming into the ground.
“Firefly!” Prism flew as fast as he could towards the suit as the crowd ran in panic, fleeing the crashed suit as more explosions erupted from it. Then, the entire suit was engulfed in flames as the remaining jets went.
“Then what,” Scootaloo said, her voice low as her imagination worked to provide her images to go along with the story.
“That was the last time any of us saw Prism Flash or Firefly,” Soarin said after a pause. “It hit us all very hard. The two of them were the backbone of the group. They were like parents to several of us, like me and Spits.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow said, approaching the two. “That was the start of my life alone.”
“If we'd have found you after the whole thing, you wouldn't have had to live all those years alone.”
“It's all good,” Rainbow said, thumping her chest. “All that made me the mare I am today. See, just like I told ya kid, hard work makes ya strong.”
“Yes it does,” a new voice said as a yellow pegasus mare with a brushed back mane and tail of two tones of orange and a cutie mark of a three licks of flame in the shape of a wing. “Though some ponies here could use a bit more of that ideology.”
“Hey there, Spits,” Soarin said with a slightly nervous smile. “I, uh, brought some guests with me. Everypony, this is Spitfire, leader of the Wonderbolts.”
“Yeah, I could hear you all the way back in town. So who are these guests of yours?”
“Right, girls come on over here so I can introduce ya,” Soarin said, calling for Pinkie and Twilight. As they came over, he continued. “They’re all here to see the show, and in fact, three of them saw some of the old shows. Spits, meet Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Scootaloo, and—”
“I’m your biggest fan!”Rainbow cried out as she rushed towards the Wonderbolt leader and through her legs around her.
Caught by surprise, Spitfire just stared out at the rest of the ponies there before coming back to herself. “Prism? No, can’t be.” She freed herself from Rainbow’s embrace and pointed a hoof at her. “Who are you, and why do you look so much like Prism Flash‽”
“I’m Rainbow Dash. Pony suit representative of Neo-Cloudsdale,” Rainbow said, rearing back onto her hind legs to thump her chest in a kind of salute. “Prism was my father. And it’s true when I say I’m your biggest fan. You were so awesome when I watched you during the old Wonderbolt shows. And after everything happened, I kept up with the stuff you were doing on the independent flier scene. Your drive and strength pushed me to never give up too.”
“Get out,” Spitfire said softly.
“What?”
“I said ‘Get out’!” Spitfire said again, much louder, cutting through the conversations going on in the tent, immediately silencing them.
“Spits,” Soarin said. “What’s gotten into ya?”
“Soarin! What were you thinking bringing that pony here‽”
“What are you talking about? What’s wrong with bringing someone who’s practically family here.”
“Uh—“ Rainbow began, trying to get something in.
“You be quiet!” Spitfire snapped. “Didn't I tell you to get out‽ Unless you want to put your reputation and career as a pony suit pilot on the line.”
Rainbow Dash stared at her with her mouth open for a moment before answering. “You're on!” she replied before storming out of the tent.
“Excuse us,” Twilight quickly said as she and Pinkie followed quickly after Rainbow. Scootaloo, looked around for a moment before also heading towards the exit, but stopped right before it and turned back to the others.
“What was that for Spits?” Soarin asked.
“Yeah, why'd ya go off on her like that?” Fleetfoot added in.
“She even went so far as to give us tips on how to do some new cool tricks,” Surprise and Firestreak said at roughly the same time.
“I'm sorry guys,” Spitfire said softly. “I don't know what came over me. I guess it was how much she looked like Prism.”
“There's a lot of Firefly in her too,” Soarin added. “You can tell by the way she holds herself. I wouldn't put it past her to be an ace with a pony suit. What made you challenge her like that?”
“I don't know. But I can't back out of this now. Come on everypony. We gotta get the Wonderbolt ready for tomorrow.”
As the members of the Wonderbolts got to work, none noticed as Scootaloo slipped away.
“I can't believe that she just did that,” Rainbow said as she stomped around a little ways off from the Wonderbolts' tent.
“I'm sure there's a reason behind that,” Twilight said, trying to calm her down.
“Yeah,” Pinkie added. “I mean, she can't really be such a meany pants all the time. So, are ya really gonna go through with this fight?”
“How can I back out after what I did back there?” Rainbow said as she stopped her stomping and sighed. “Hey, where's Scoots?”
“I'm here,” Scootaloo said as she trotted up. “And you wouldn't believe what I just heard.”
“No time, kid.” Rainbow said, cutting off whatever Scootaloo was about to say. “We gotta get ready for tomorrow. So much for fun times. Sorry, Pinks.”
“Don't worry, RD. We'll be there for ya tomorrow.”
“As she said, friends have to stick together,” Twilight added as the two of them began to walk off. “Be careful.”
Rainbow gave a short salute of understanding as they left. “Come on, kid. We have lots of work to do.”
As the dawn broke the next day, ponies began to converge on the large field set near the Wonderbolt's camp. As more and more ponies arrived, food stalls and vendors of all sorts began to spring up as well, all the while leaving a large area of the field at the center of the crowds open and untouched. Some ponies even took to placing up quickly made barriers to keep ponies out of this area. There was an air of anticipation flowing through the crowds, as if they were waiting for something spectacular to happen. Soon, the noise of all the ponies drew out the Wonderbolts from their hangar.
“Where's all these ponies come from?” Soarin asked, scratching his head. “The shows not until tomorrow.”
“Maybe they heard about the fight that's gonna happen,” Surprise said.
“How'd they know that?” Fleetfoot wondered. “I don't think any of us made that known in town.”
“I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this,” Spitfire added. “But even so, we can't back out of this just because there's an audience now. In fact, we can use this as a way to hype our show. Right, Soarin?”
“You sure of that, Spits?”
“Maybe you're right. We should see what Ms. Dash has to say about this.”
As they were all talking amongst themselves, a voice piped in. “She says that this will make the whole thing a lot cooler and awesome.”
The Wonderbolts turned towards the voice, and saw Scootaloo standing there, next to them. She waved at them.
“Well, I guess that settles that issue,” Spitfire said, turning towards Scootaloo. “Kid, you go and tell Ms. Dash to get ready.” After she said that, she turned and entered back into the hanger.
Scootaloo gave a quick salute and ran off as Pinkie and Twilight approached the group.
“Hi there, everypony!” Pinkie shouted out in greeting. “This is some crowd, isn't it? Looks like they're all here to see the big fight.”
“It is that,” Twilight said. “The only question is, how'd they all learn about it?”
“That's exactly what we'd like to know,” Soarin replied.
“Oh, that was me,” Pinkie said.
“And me,” Surprise added in as the rest of the group stared at the two of them. “We thought it'd be a good idea to give the ponies of Van Hover a warm up show to ours.”
“And what better way to do that then to showcase a fight between two great fliers?”
“There's two of them,” Soarin and Twilight said, almost in stereo, drawing a collective groan from the rest of the ponies there.
“Come on Wonderbolts,” Soarin said, regaining his composure. “If the crowds are here to see a show, we better make sure they know what they are gonna be seeing.”
“And we should probably go and see how Rainbow is handling all this,” Twilight said as the members of the Wonderbolts took flight. “Let's go, Pinkie.”
“Aye aye, Twi.”
The Hurricane Pony was set up at the other end of the field, surrounded by a hastily made barricade of wooden posts and some rope. Yet, this was enough to deter the massive crowd that had swarmed around it, gazing in awe at the suit. But still, there was a gruff looking earth pony stallion standing watch just inside the fence to make sure that nopony got the idea to get too close.
When Pinkie and Twilight reached this point, Pinkie simply hopped right over and continued on her way towards the Hurricane Pony.
“Hold it right there miss,” the gruff pony said, quickly stepping into Pinkie's way. “You ain't allowed ta get any closer. No pony's allowed.”
“Oh, don't mind me,” Pinkie replied. “I'm a friend just here to see the pilot.”
“You an' half the crowd.”
“It's true, sir,” Twilight said as she crossed the barricade.
“Right, I ain't moving unless ya give me proof.”
“Pinkie! Twilight!” Scootaloo shouted as she ran towards the two. “We were expecting you at some point. Come on! Come on! Rainbow's almost done with the prep and stuff.”
“Told ya so,” Pinkie said as she and Twilight walked past the dumbfounded guard and up to the Hurricane. It looked almost exactly as it had before when she'd faced it outside of the Landsdale/Cloudsdale community. The armor had been slightly upgraded, more streamlined and aerodynamically sound then it had been. And it looked as if the jets and stabilizers set in the wings had been reworked.
“Hey! Rainbow! They're here!”
“What's that, Scoots?” Rainbow said as she popped her head out of the suit's cockpit. “Oh, hey guys. You ready for a great showing?”
“You know it, RD!” Pinkie said, showing her enthusiasm by hopping quickly around the area. “And I'm sure it'll be just that, great!”
“Be careful out there,” Twilight added. “Spitfire's been training for this sort of thing for more than the ten years that the Wonderbolts have been inactive. You are going up against a seasoned veteran.”
“I know,” Rainbow replied as she glided down to the ground. “And I'd have it no other way. You two go and find a good viewing spot. Scoots, go ahead with them. It's time to light the skies up and show these ponies a show they won't forget!”
As noon approached, the crowds grew even larger and louder in their anticipation. Finally, the sun rose to it's highest point, and there came a rush of smoke and noise from the Wonderbolts' hanger as a blur of blue shot straight up through the canvas roof and performed a series of aerial flips and spins before landing in the center of the open space of the field. The Wonderbolt, the pony suit designed specifically for the Wonderbolts' show was a suit unlike any other. It was sleek and stunning, lacking even the lightest of armors to provide it with unhampered movement and agility. In comparison, the Hurricane Pony looked like a flying brick as it flew steadily from where it had been set, yet for those that knew of it, that look belayed it's tremendous speed and agility. The fight was going to be one of speed.
“Greetings and Salutations, everypony!” Soarin said, his voice amplified through a hastily set up sound system. “And welcome, to the Wonderbolts pre-show!” The crowds exploded in cheers. “Ah, always great to hear the enthusiasm and excitement of the crowds. Now, for you entertainment today, we're bringing you a special treat. That's right, today we have a semi-official Pony Fight match between Neo-Cloudsdale's Hurricane Pony and its pilot, Rainbow Dash, and the Wonderbolts' very own Wonderbolt and its pilot, Spitfire! Now, let's give it up for the two fighters!”
The crowds broke out into more cheers and applause as Spitfire and Rainbow both made an appearance from their suits cockpits. They waved around at the mass of ponies before returning to the insides of their suits.
“You ready for this, kid?” Spitfire said as a comm link patched the Wonderbolt through to the Hurricane.
“With a crowd like this, who wouldn't be?” Rainbow replied.
“You sure? You sound a little riled up over there.”
“I'm just fine! And what's with the concern? Last night you couldn't stand me?”
“Look, Rainbow,” Spitfire began. “I'm sorry about that. I let my emotions get the better of me. I idolized your parents. They were like parents to me, seeing you just made everything come back and it hurt.”
“And I'm sorry for storming out like that,” Rainbow said. “Look, let's get all that outta the way after this thing.”
“Yeah, we gotta show to put on. Don't expect me to go easy on you!”
“Same to you!”
“Pony fight match, all set!” Spitfire shouted out, adding the external speakers of her suit to let the crowd know what was going to happen.
“Ready!” Rainbow continued, following the same vain of action.
“GO!” Both pilots shouted that at the same time as both suits took to the air with a mighty gust of wind produced by all the jets. The two soared straight up and both dove back down, away from each other. As the two of them neared the ground, they banked and set their suits on a path directly towards each other. The Hurricane Pony's wings began to glow the familiar glow of a beam weapon as it turned to place one in the direct path of the Wonderbolt. At the last second, the Wonderbolt performed what could best be summed up as a leap frog as it placed both front hooves upon the Hurricane's chest and flipped over it while sending it down closer to the ground.
The crowd let out a gasp as the Hurricane set its hooves and skidded along the ground before turning and launching itself back into the air after the Wonderbolt.
“Good move, kid,” Spitfire said over the comm link. “But you're gonna have to do a whole lot better than that.” Spitfire drove the Wonderbolt into an Immelman turn, flying it straight up before letting gravity take it to spin around to face the Hurricane as it flew up towards it. The Hurricane tried again to set its flight path to strike at the Wonderbolt with its beam wings, but the Wonderbolt swung effortlessly out of its way and let out a stream of fire and smoke from it hind legs as it passed.
The Hurricane gave a mighty sweep of its wings and rose above the smoke and flames, but that was exactly what Spitfire was expecting. The Wonderbolt slammed right into the side of the Hurricane, knocking it spinning away down towards the ground again. As it spun, stabilizers within the wings activated, righting the suit and bracing it as it landed hard on its hooves. Rainbow shook her head inside, trying to throw off the shock of the hit, causing the Hurricane to follow her movements.
“Gotta think faster,” she said as she gazed up into the sky, looking for the Wonderbolt. “Gotta act faster. I can't go down like this, without a fight!” The Hurricane, once again, launched itself into the sky.
“That's the spirit, Rainbow,” Spitfire said as she maneuvered the Wonderbolt into position and hovered in the path of the Hurricane. “Now, show me what you got.”
A pair of twin vulcan guns fired from the head of the Hurricane Pony as it neared, sending the Wonderbolt out of its hover and into a defensive strafe. The Hurricane flew after it, firing when it could, and trying to close in. In retaliation, the Wonderbolt let out another smoke trail in an attempt to blind Rainbow and the Hurricane. Rather than try to avoid the smoke, Rainbow drove her suit straight through it and caught the Wonderbolt by surprise as it burst free on the other side.
The two suits collided into each other, the heavier Hurricane sending the Wonderbolt sailing away to crash down heavily safely away from the crowds.
“How was that,” Rainbow said as she landed the Hurricane in the center of the performance area. “Bet you weren't expecting that.”
“No, not really,” Spitfire replied. “Good move, blindly flying straight into the unknown. Good, but reckless.” The Wonderbolt came flying from where it landed and slammed into the Hurricane. As the Hurricane struck out at it, the Wonderbolt jumped back, out of reach before diving in again to strike.
“Look who's being reckless now,” Rainbow said as she struck out again at the passing Wonderbolt, only to have it nimbly dodge out of the way.
“It's all in the way you go about it,” Spitfire replied as she landed another hit, this time, striking at the hind legs of the Hurricane. “I just gotta avoid getting hit.”
“Good advice.” The Hurricane lowered itself and struck out with a wing at leg level, only to have the Wonderbolt vault over it and land a pair of kicks onto its back.
“See, just like that.” The Wonderbolt launched itself into the sky, sending a stream of fire at the Hurricane in its wake. The Hurricane gave a mighty sweep of its wings and launched itself away from the fire, but not in time to avoid it entirely. The flames had lapped over the hind legs of it. As it landed, Rainbow set the Hurricane into another launch to send it into the sky, but it didn't work out as planned as it landed hard back on the ground.
“What's wrong, Rainbow?” Spitfire asked. “Something wrong down there? Can't fly?”
“You took out my flight jets!”
“Maybe, guess that means that the end's near. Let's finish this fight!” Up in the sky, the Wonderbolt began to rotate vertically, faster and faster as fire began to cover the suit in a flaming vortex.
“Yes! Let's! Ready the Hurricane!” One of the Hurricane's wings rotated to face the opposite direction as the wings jets fire up, sending the suit into a fast horizontal spin.
“Buccaneer's Blaze!”
“Hurricane's Strike!”
The Wonderbolt shot down towards the Hurricane in a fiery corkscrew spiral as the spin of the Hurricane lifted it towards the oncoming attack. The two attacks struck head on, each spin fighting to to gain an advantage over the other as the flames of the Wonderbolt began to get sucked away into the Hurricane's attack. With that, the Hurricane took an upperhoof in the attack and as the Wonderbolt's attack slowly came to a stop and was swept up into the brunt of the attack. The Hurricane's strike tore into the unarmored body of the Wonderbolt like a pair of scissors to a piece of paper and tossed it away.
“And there we have it ponies!” Soarin shouted over the silenced crowd. “In a upsetting move, the Hurricane Pony has defeated the Wonderbolt in a spectacular display of spinmanship. Let's give a hand to Rainbow Dash!”
That broke the crowd's silence as cheers rained out from everywhere. Rainbow Dash exited her suit and flew over to the downed Wonderbolt as Spitfire exited.
“Good show there,” Spitfire said, slapping Rainbow on the back. “Wasn't expecting for the Buccaneer Blaze to be defeated like that. Guess weight and armor do mean everything in a fight.”
“Not everything” Rainbow said. “If there'd been less armor on the Hurricane, I could have kept up with you and not taken as much damage.”
“Yeah, but you'd have been taken out earlier by the attacks that did hit.” Spitfire let out a laugh at that and thumped Rainbow on the back again. “You have your mother's skills, kid. And your father's reckless streak. I'll be looking forward to the rest of the tournament.”
“Thanks,” Rainbow said as a streak of orange plowed into her.
“That was awesome!” Scootaloo shouted as she held onto Rainbow's side. “That was the most awesome thing I've ever seen!”
“Glad you could see that, Scoots.”
“Glad you could see that, kid.”
Rainbow and Spitfire said that at the same time, then burst out into laughter.
“Well, I'll leave you two together, I have to figure out what to do about the repairs to the Wonderbolt.” Spitfire left the two alone as she went off in search of Soarin and the other Wonderbolts.
“She's right, RD,” Pinkie said as she and Twilight walked up. “That was the coolest end to a fight I've ever seen!”
“Did you know that you'd be able to throw the attack off like that?” Twilight asked.
“I had no idea. So, what's next for you two?”
“I think it's about time for us to get back into the swing of things,” Pinkie said.
“What she means, is that our vacation is over.”
“That's what I said, Twi. Well, after tomorrow of course. Can't miss the actual show, can we?”
“So, I guess that means the next time we meet, it'll be as opponents,” Rainbow said as she extended a hoof to Pinkie. “I look forward to that.”
“Same here.” Pinkie grabbed Rainbow's hoof with hers. “Now, let's show the world what Pinkie Pie and the Shining Pony can do!”
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Ya. Wohoo! New chapter!
And it was so awesome! 
3073658
Thank you. So, what did you find entertaining about this chapter? What struck out?
3074140 Well I loved the funny parts such as Pinkie and Surprise classic two of them thing.
The reason for the Wonderbolts being out of commission for a decade interested me. And it made sense why they'd do that. I love it when things make sense.
But to be perfectly honest I'm a huge fan of fight scenes. So the fight between the Wonderbolt and Hurricane Pony ending with the Buccaneer Blaze and Hurricane Strike was definitely my personal; favorite moment.
And once again I'm surprised how much IN CHARACTER you got every pony.
3074215
Glad you liked that stuff. The flashbacks were fun and Surprises involvement in things was just spur of the moment thing Ii threw in after realizing that the was a wonderbolt named Surprise.
And the fight, I had trouble writing that, but I knew I wanted it to end that way because it was outrageous and crazy.
3074978 It was an awesome ending that's for sure.
welcome back! And keep up the good work. =3
3077358
Sorry for the long wait this time
1721829
Shining Gundam beats everything! xD Shining fin...hoof...!
God that sounded better in my head. lol
3435589
Doesn't it always?