Shuffling Priorities
Chapter 13: Shuffling Priorities
Rainbow Dash immediately went into a sharp dive, her flight taking her through the open bottom of the stadium, her eyes locking onto her targets. There was no time to wait for orders or even warn Spitfire and Soarin' about the situation. She needed to act now or there would be no recovering what was lost...
...Because Rainbow's eyes had spotted them almost instantly as the outer cumulus layers and the stratus-sheet core of the Cloudeseum structure unraveled into intangible mist, completely incapable of supporting even pegasus ponies. Most of the crowd quickly spread their wings and took to the air, easily recovering from the fact that their footing had been stolen away. But certain members of the crowd were not so lucky. From above, they looked like little multi-colored specks dropping away, but Rainbow realized what they were instantly...foals...dozens of them! The young pegasi weren't yet old enough to fly and were now dropping like rocks with wings towards the unforgiving ground far below. Some of the parents had already realized their children's plight and were stooping down to catch their kids themselves. However, for some foals, it wasn't nearly enough.
Rainbow shot downward, passing other diving adult pegasi as though they were sitting still. She also dove past some of the foals, aiming for those who were already closest to the ground and at the greatest risk. Even as she did so, she knew she couldn't save them all. She'd once saved Rarity and three other adult pegasi (her fellow Wonderbolts in fact) and carried them all to safety. However, at the time, she'd had the momentum granted by performing a Sonic Rainboom. While the maneuver would give her the speed she needed to save more ponies, with so many other ponies in the sky, Rainbow realized it would do more harm than good. Instead, she angled her flight, ultimately aiming for the foal closest to the ground and working out a path to snatch up as many others as she could on the way.
Her ears picked up the rushing sound of other ponies joining her in her dive, ponies who were almost as fast as she was. The Wonderbolts hadn't waited for orders from Spitfire either. Either they were following her lead or they'd simply seen the foals and acted on their own initiative. Either way, with twenty of the best flyers in Equestria on the scene, Rainbow felt the hope that, maybe, they could save everypony.
But I have to do my part, she thought, locking onto the nearest foal and twisting into a roll that brought her around behind the flailing filly. She remembered all too well what had happened when the Wonderbolts had tried to save Rarity from a similar fate and had ended up knocked out and in need of rescuing themselves. Rainbow had no intention of switching teams from the rescuers to the rescued.
"I gotcha," she said as she wrapped an arm around the filly and brought her in close. Hearing Rainbow's words and feeling her touch calmed the filly down, prompting her to relax and press up against Rainbow's side. "Hold on tight kiddo," said Rainbow, taking just a second to give the filly a reassuring smile, "You're about to have some company."
With a twitch of her wings, Rainbow rapidly angled her flight towards the next foal, a colt, and caught up with him as well, carefully depositing him on her back before aiming for the next one. Two more fillies joined her passengers and Rainbow as definitely starting to feel the strain. The last one left ahead of her was the filly closest to hitting the ground. Even though the added drag of carrying four other foals was slowing her down, Rainbow didn't let up. The ground was getting closer with each passing second, a revelation that only prompted Rainbow to push herself harder.
Finally, her arms closed around the last filly. Rainbow flared out her wings and used all her strength to pull out of her dive. Now she was really feeling the strain of all five of her extra passengers. She had to be careful not to pull out too sharply or the resulting g-force could do serious harm to her little passengers...or simply pry them off and send them into free-fall again.
It was a near thing. Rainbow estimated that she barely had a couple of meters to spare as she leveled out and finally began the long climb back to Cloudsdale. Her wings were on fire and the added weight of her riders was not helping things. However, as she rose upwards, her ears picked up new sounds that made her body feel as though it weighed nothing at all.
"That was awesome! I got saved by a Wonderbolt!"
"You're the coolest ever!"
"I wanna be like you girls when you grow up!"
"Can I fly like that someday?"
Heh...kids... One minute they were screaming in terror at the prospect of an imminent death, the next they were laughing like nothing happened. Granted, aside from the "nearly falling to their deaths" part, that was a pretty awesome thing to happen to them. In spite of herself, Rainbow couldn't quite keep a dopey grin from her face and was exceedingly grateful that her flight suit did an effective job of concealing her blush as her passengers sang her praises to the high heavens.
Getting back up to Cloudsdale was a bit harder task than diving down from it, especially with five extra passengers. Ahead of her, she saw the rising shapes of other pegasi, including her fellow Wonderbolts, many of them loaded down with passengers of their own heading back above. Reminded of the gravity of the situation, Rainbow cast her eyes around, hoping with all her heart that she wouldn't see what she was looking for.
She didn't. There were no unmoving figures laid out against the ground, surrounded by mourning families. The green fields below were unmarred by the red of blood. From what Rainbow could see, everyone seemed to have been rescued safely. Thank goodness.
Pumping her wings a little harder, Rainbow ascended through the final distance up to the city. The Cloudeseum had disintegrated entirely, its structure having dissolved into streaming wisps of clouds that, even now, were trailing away. A landing area had apparently been established in the space where the entrance leading up to the Cloudeseum had originally been. Rainbow could see several ponies, including the other members of her team, landing and disembarking their passengers there.
"Alright kids, we're here," said Rainbow, trying her hardest not to feel too amused by the disappointed "aaaaaaaw" let out by the foals she'd caught at the realization that their awesome ride was coming to an end.
Even as Rainbow came in for a landing, she could hear the shouts of the adults as frantic parents called out to their children. She let out a quiet "Oof!" as five foals jumped away from her, inadvertently kicking off a little harder than they intended as they rushed into their parents' arms. Rainbow watched the happy reunions, a warm feeling of satisfaction welling up in her stomach.
"Thank you so much for saving my filly!" said an older mare, cuddling her daughter tightly as she spoke.
"Uh...you're welcome," said Rainbow, beginning to feel a bit sheepish as the other parents joined in heaping even further praise on her, quickly joined by the foals themselves, who were excitedly describing their experience, complete with sound effects and gesturing hooves. Rainbow tried her hardest to listen, but was losing individual voices to the overall din of conversation surrounding her. As she looked from one pony to another, she noticed at least one pony wasn't part of the crowd.
A bright-pink filly with an orange mane was hanging back at the edge of the crowd, not even looking at anypony else. Instead, she seemed to be staring forlornly at the edge of the clouds, where the mighty stadium had once floated. Though Rainbow couldn't see the filly's face from her position, her slumped posture betrayed her mood all too well. Furthermore, Rainbow recognized the filly as the one that had fallen the furthest before Rainbow had caught her.
Doing her best to be diplomatic about it, Rainbow disentangled herself from her admirers and made her way over to the filly. "Hey," she said softly, "Are you okay?"
"Oh!" squeaked the filly, turning sharply at Rainbow, who had clearly startled her out of some deep thought, "I'm...fine..." she said, slowly turning back to look at the edge of the clouds and the empty space looming beyond.
Rainbow didn't want to pry too deeply, but the last thing she wanted to do was leave anypony feeling down, especially after what had just happened. "You don't sound fine," she said.
The filly said nothing.
With a quiet sigh at how tired her body felt after the unexpected exercise, Rainbow settled onto her haunches next to the filly. "Pretty scary, wasn't it?"
"Y-yeah..." said the filly, still staring straight ahead, "I know it's wrong but..."
"Huh? What's wrong?" asked Rainbow, "Being scared?"
"W-well...yeah!" replied thee filly, "I mean, you weren't scared after all."
"Whoa! Hold on squirt!" protested Rainbow, "Who are you kidding? I wasn't just scared. I was terrified!"
The filly went rigid at Rainbow's words, looking up at Rainbow with wide eyes. "Y-you were scared? But you're a Wonderbolt!"
"You bet I was scared," replied Rainbow, "Being a Wonderbolt doesn't mean you stop being scared kiddo. I was scared out of my mind when I saw you and the others down there. I thought about what would happen if I let even just one of you down and failed to save you. That scared the hay out of me. That's why I did what I did, because I didn't want to see the thing I was afraid of happen."
"R-really?" asked the filly.
"Yeah," said Rainbow, reaching out with a hoof and gently brushing a tear away from the filly's cheek.
"I'm sorry..." said the filly, looking down again.
"For what?" asked Rainbow.
"I...I'm old enough that I should be flying," said the filly, sniffing hard, "You shouldn't have had to save me like that. But instead...instead I was the one in the most trouble."
Rainbow blinked. For the first time, she took a good look at the filly...a really good look. The filly was a little larger and probably older than the other foals Rainbow had rescued. She was at that age where most foals were really starting to really get off the ground, moving beyond brief fluttering, hovering bursts and into true sustained flight.
"I'm slow and weak," said the filly, sniffling harder, her voice cracking as she came dangerously close to breaking into outright sobs, "I can't fly like a real pegasus."
"Hey there," said Rainbow, "Don't talk like that." She reached out with her wing and gently wrapped it around the filly, pulling the little pony up against her side, using a primary to flick away another of the filly's tears as she did so. "Who's been telling you that...your family?"
"No," said the filly, "But some of my classmates tease me when the teachers aren't watching. They're always saying that I'll never be a real pegasus, that I'll be a failure all my life."
"Don't listen to them," said Rainbow, "Let me tell you something...you don't have to be a good flyer to be a great pegasus."
The filly looked at Rainbow as though she'd started speaking in another language.
"It's true," said Rainbow, her chest puffing out a little, "One of my best friends in the whole wide world is a pretty weak flyer overall. Even when she was a good bit older than you are now, she had trouble just getting into the air. All our classmates used to taunt her all the time. But you know what?"
"What?" asked the filly, now hanging on Rainbow's every word.
Rainbow grinned, "She's an amazing pony and it has absolutely nothing to do with how good a flyer she is. She can do a whole ton of things that I can't and, in a lot of ways, she's way braver than I could ever be. I'm pretty jealous of her sometimes."
"How?" gasped the filly.
"She didn't get hung up on just flying," said Rainbow, giving the filly a light squeeze with her wing, "You don't have to be a great flyer or even an average one to be a good pony. Don't get hung up on that and don't lose sight of the things you love to do.
"Besides, I know you can get the hang of flying. For some ponies, it takes longer than others. My little sister is older than you are now and she only started really flying just last year. So I know you can do it."
"Really?" gasped the filly, "But how could she go so long without learning to fly?"
"She just wasn't doing it the right way for her," replied Rainbow, "The usual way a pegasus learns how to fly wasn't working for her and she wasn't getting anywhere. It took somepony else to show her a way that worked for her. That's all you need to do too. Just don't get too worked up over it or you could you hurt yourself."
The filly paused for a moment after listening to Rainbow's advice. "Okay."
"Feel better now?" asked Rainbow, beaming down at the filly.
"Yeah...I think so," said the filly.
"Good to hear," said Rainbow, gently ruffling the filly's mane.
Standing up, Rainbow let the filly go so that she could run back to her parents, who gave Rainbow a grateful look before leading their daughter away, presumably back home.
"Not bad."
"Eek!" Rainbow jumped as Spitfire practically spoke straight into her ear. Spinning around, Rainbow saw that Spitfire and Soarin' were standing behind her, both of them grinning. "Give a mare some warning before you do that!"
Soarin' let out a laugh. "But you're so cute when you squeak like that."
"I'll show you cute," muttered Rainbow petulantly.
"Save it for later," said Spitfire with a chuckle, "We need to get back to Headquarters and debrief."
"Yes Ma'am!" snapped Rainbow.
As a single unit, the Wonderbolts took their leave and headed back to their Headquarters. Once there, they assembled in the main briefing room as Spitfire paced in front of them.
"Alright," she said, "Good work everypony. That was a completely unexpected situation and you all exceeded my expectations. The perpetrator may have gotten away, but we won't let him remain on the loose for long."
"Are we going after him then?" asked Rapidfire.
"Sooner or later," said Spitfire, "But we need to get more information on him first. On that note...Rainbow Dash!"
"Yes?" yelped Rainbow, sitting up a little straighter now that she was unexpectedly at the center of attention. She felt Soarin's wing brush against her back in an unspoken gesture of support.
"From the sound of things, you know that pony," said Spitfire, "Who is he?"
Rainbow swallowed. "His name is Flash Spark," she said, "He used to serve under me in the Ponyville Weather Team." She explained her turbulent history with the stallion, which had ended with him getting his wings broken by Dawn for trying to rape Fluttershy.
"Hold on," interjected Wave Chill, "If that guy had his wings irreparably broken, how was he flying out there today?"
"Well, they obviously weren't pegasus wings," remarked Soarin', "If I had to hazard a guess, he got the new wings along with the freaky armor."
"He's definitely got the whole insect theme going," observed Misty Fly, nodding sagely, "But none of that makes any sense. Just what are those wings and what is that armor? I've never even seen or heard of anything remotely like it."
"We'll have to find out," said Spitfire, "It's clear that he's extremely dangerous. Upon arrival, he was already using his wings to generate some kind of sound-based attack. In fact, what he did at the end there was probably sonic in nature too. Either way, he's way too dangerous for the regular Guard or even the Royal Guard to tackle. So it's gonna fall to us.
"We'll work out a strategy tomorrow. For tonight, you're dismissed. Get some rest everypony."
The Wonderbolts stood up and began to file out of the briefing room. "Hold on Rainbow," said Spitfire, fixing Rainbow with a stare, "I want you to stick around for a moment."
Pausing, Rainbow nodded nervously, sitting herself back down. Soarin' also stayed, remaining seated next to her. Once the other ponies filed out, Spitfire came to sit down in front of Rainbow.
"First off," said Spitfire, "I'd like to start out by saying that you were fantastic out there."
Rainbow blinked and blushed. "I was?"
Spitfire nodded, smiling proudly. "Remember what I told you when you first got here? Wonderbolts think for themselves and act together. That was what you did today. You didn't waste time looking to me for orders or trying to see what everypony else was doing. You saw what needed to be done and you did it. You immediately marked out the ponies closest to hitting the ground as your priorities and took action because you know that your speed is the highest of the current Wonderbolts while you trusted your comrades to help the others."
Rainbow nodded, blushing a little harder and feeling a pleasant tingle in your stomach.
Spitfire's expression became warmer. "And then there was what you did with that filly after you landed. I'm very impressed with how you handled that situation. It's the little things like that that tell you the most about a pony."
"Really..." said Rainbow, actually feeling a bit bashful, "It wasn't that big of a deal."
Soarin' chuckled next to her. "You were in the middle of a crowd, getting heaped with praise that nopony would argue you didn't deserve. But, despite that, you still took the time to console a filly who was feeling down about herself. After what she'd been through already today, that probably meant the world to her.”
Still blushing, Rainbow looked down, not sure how to feel about all the praise being heaped on her by experienced Wonderbolts. She supposed that she should feel pleased and elated. I am pretty awesome after all. But, at the same time, she'd had experience with a few occasions where her fame had gone to her head.
"Now for the hard part," said Spitfire, snapping Rainbow back to reality.
Rainbow looked up sharply at Spitfire, along with Soarin', who was also looking uneasy.
With a sigh, Spitfire said, "Unfortunately, with things as they are now, I have no choice but to cancel your training program."
Rainbow froze, her eyes wide as she stared at Spitfire in stunned shock.
"Wait! What?" gasped Soarin', "When did you decide this?"
"When I heard that Rainbow knew that nutjob personally," replied Spitfire in a cool tone that brooked no argument, "And, to make matters worse, he's made it perfectly clear that he's gunning for Rainbow specifically."
Remembering the feeling of Flash Spark's hoof against her cheek made Rainbow shiver and she reflexively raised her own hoof to the spot.
"That guy was a pegasus," said Spitfire, "But those clearly weren't pegasus wings. Those abilities of his aren't in the scope of anything I've ever seen before. I've got a really bad feeling about it. Because of that, I don't think regular Wonderbolt training is gonna cut it."
"So...we're doing what then?" asked Soarin', tilting his head.
"Before I even started the briefing, I sent Ouranos out," explained Spitfire, "I'm calling Firefly in so she can take over Rainbow's training. If everything goes well, Rainbow can return here and resume her Wonderbolts training, but I want to be absolutely sure that she can handle herself against a guy who clearly won't be threatened by regular methods. That and I'll feel better if she's with Firefly. She's a way more experienced Knight than I am, so I think Rainbow will be safer with her."
"Are you sure about this?" asked Soarin'.
"As sure as I can be," replied Spitfire. She focused intently on Rainbow. "Do you understand what I'm telling you to do?"
Rainbow nodded dumbly. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt about her Wonderbolt training getting delayed so abruptly, but she could understand Spitfire's reasoning.
Spitfire gave Rainbow a sad smile. "I'm sorry that things aren't going the way we wanted. But this is for the best. I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I didn't do everything in my power to make sure my teammates are safe. That means making sure that you're prepared to face a serious threat, which this creep clearly is."
"I understand, Captain," said Rainbow.
"Good," said Spitfire, "I don't know how long it's gonna take for us to track down Firefly and get her back here. But we'll continue your regular training until then. But...I think another day off is in order, since this one turned out to be a bust."
"I guess," Rainbow admitted. Her entire body did feel worn out. She felt almost as tired as she usually did after her regular training sessions. She was learning to cope with that tired feeling better now, but it didn't change the fact that her session of light exercise promised by the performance had been replaced by a strenuous rescue operation.
"Get some rest," said Spitfire, nodding to Soarin' before stepping out of the briefing room. "If you two go out, keep a sharp eye out in case that stallion comes back and tries to make good on his threat. If you encounter him, get back here on the double, whatever it takes." Soarin' nodded back and Spitfire took her leave.
Soarin' rested a hoof lightly between Rainbow's wings. "How do you feel?" he asked.
"Pretty tired," Rainbow admitted.
"Well, you've got another day off tomorrow," said Soarin', "So...are we still on for dinner tonight?"
Remembering that she was supposed to go on a date with her coltfriend, Rainbow perked up. "I think I'd be up for that."
Soarin' gave her a grin. "That's the Rainbow I know. I still have reservations at a nice place."
"That'd be great," said Rainbow, "Let's get cleaned up." The two of them left the briefing room to change out of their flight suits and get washed up. I just hope Flash Spark doesn't try to crash our date. She froze as something extremely troubling occurred to her. But first...I need to send a letter.
The day had begun like any other for Dawn and Scootaloo. As it was the weekend, neither of them had to worry about school. They did, however, have a shift at the teahouse later on in the morning, which would be followed by a, hopefully, peaceful afternoon with their friends. Scootaloo and the other three members of the Crusaders had obtained their cutie marks. However, that had not completely stopped their scheming as they tried to come up with different ways for Dawn and Rumble to obtain their own cutie marks, much to the distress of the colts in question.
After coming in from practice in the front yard of Scootaloo's home, Dawn and his fillyfriend seated themselves at the table in the kitchen as they waited for Melon Cream to finish breakfast. Melon slid a pair of omelets in front of the foals just as the thump of the newspaper hitting the front porch echoed through the house. Melon trotted out to pick up the morning paper while the foals tucked into their meal.
A few seconds later, Melon came bounding back into the kitchen, her eyes wide. "Scootaloo! Dawn!"
Looking up from their meals, Dawn and Scootaloo looked at Melon with confusion and worry. Melon had gone slightly pale beneath her coat as she threw the newspaper on the center of the table, which unfolded so that the paper's headline was clearly readable.
Both Dawn and Scootaloo turned to look at the paper, trying to figure out what had the filly's mother so agitated.
UNIDENTIFIED ATTACKER INTERRUPTS WONDERBOLT PERFOMRANCE!
Cloudsdale's Cloudeseum Destroyed:A performance by the Wonderbolts aerial team was interrupted by an attack by an unidentified individual who then went on to destroy Cloudsdale's iconic Cloudeseum via methods currently unknown.
The Wonderbolts' performance began as planned at two in the afternoon. However, early on into their whole-team formation maneuvers, the performance was interrupted by a strange, unidentified noise that prompted the Wonderbolts to disperse in an attempt to identify its source. The source was later confirmed to be a pony of unidentified type, who flew in over the stadium's outer wall.
The perpetrator proceeded to engage in a verbal exchange with Captain Spitfire and other Wonderbolts before launching an attack that destroyed the integrity of the Cloudeseum's structure, prompting it to disintegrate entirely. Only swift actions by the Wonderbolts on the scene prevented any injuries and loss of life, rescuing those too young or infirm for sustained flight from falling to their deaths. Thanks to the Wonderbolts' prompt actions, there were no casualties and no serious injuries.
Though testimony from the Wonderbolts on the scene, including Captain Spitfire, indicated that the perpetrator was indeed a pony, critical facts regarding the perpetrator's identity remain unconfirmed. Though the perpetrator was in flight, witnesses reported that the unidentified pony sported some form of insect-like wings as opposed to pegasus wings. This, combined with eyewitness testimony stating that the perpetrator was covered in some form of carapace or armor have led to speculation that a changeling was responsible, despite Princess Celestia's recent assertions that the changelings no longer pose a threat to Equestria.
Captain Spitfire has vowed that she will use all of the resources available to her and her team to track down the perpetrator and bring him to justice. Furthermore, the Cloudsdale Guard will also be participating in the investigation, as will the Guard units in neighboring areas if it is determined that the perpetrator has hidden himself outside of Cloudsdale's jurisdiction.
When pressed for a comment, Princess Celestia declared that she had complete faith in Captain Spitfire's efforts and that the Royal Guard would supply assistance as needed. Much remains uncertain about the incident and more information shall be published as it is made available.
Scootaloo and Dawn stared for a second at the words of the article before looking at each other. "What do you think that's all about?" asked the filly.
Dawn shrugged. "It's hard to say," he admitted, "It's fairly obvious what happened, but it seems that Rainbow Dash is fine. There is nothing in the article stating that any of the Wonderbolts were hurt."
"Yeah...but..." Scootaloo frowned pensively. "Something about this whole thing seems weird."
"There isn't a whole lot we can do with the information that we have," said Dawn, "Rainbow Dash will probably send us more information in due time. In the meantime, let's not worry about it too much. She's alright and that's all we really need to know at this point."
"I guess..." said Scootaloo, her tone uncertain. There was something bothering her about the article and the events it was describing, something she didn't like one bit. With all thee things that had been happening lately, just having somepony with weird powers show up out of nowhere seemed way too contrived for Scootaloo's tastes, though she couldn't figure out how it was contrived. Maybe I'm thinking too hard about this, she thought.
Still, there was nothing to be done at the moment. She was worried about Rainbow, of course. But, as Dawn had pointed out, there was no indication that Rainbow had been hurt and the article had actually stated specifically that nopony had been injured. Scootaloo supposed that the only thing to do right now was carry on like normal until they got more information.
In spite of her knowledge that no amount of worrying would do any good, Scootaloo felt as though she couldn't do anything but. Dawn was forced to keep a careful eye on her during their shift at the teahouse, lest Scootaloo, in a fit of inattentiveness, accidentally drop and break a cup or teapot, or worse...spill hot tea on a customer. There had been a couple of close calls over the course of the day, but Dawn and the others managed to head off any disasters on Scootaloo's part.
Once the shift ended, Scootaloo bolted out the teahouse's door and made straight for the library, leaving so quickly that she forgot to take her saddlebags in the rush. Danw picked her bags up along with his own and followed the filly across the way after pausing to give Arkenstone a brief apology for all the trouble. Rumble, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom exchanged nervous glances before deciding to follow.
Scootaloo slammed open the door to the library as she barged in. The impact made the door shudder in its frame, which knocked over a small number of books and sent them toppling off the shelves and onto the floor.
"Scootaloo!" snapped Twilight, who had been reading at the table, "What have I told you about slamming the door?"
Freezing, the filly managed to recover her composure. "Sorry," she squeaked.
Twilight sighed. "Let me guess...you found out about Rainbow."
Scootaloo nodded. "Mom showed me the article."
"I understand you're worried," said Twilight, "So am I. That's why Spike and I are waiting here for now. I'm hoping Rainbow will send us a letter soon and maybe give us a bit more information about what's going on."
"Who knows," said Spike bringing a tray of snacks out of the kitchen and setting it out in the large table in the library's center, "Maybe she'll need Dawn's help again."
"At this point, anything's possible," said Twilight.
The door behind Scootaloo opened again, more gently this time, and the other Crusaders came inside. Dawn quickly went over to give Scootaloo her saddlebags back, which prompted a blush from the orange filly as Apple Bloom quickly went over to exchange a nuzzle with Spike.
"I figured you'd all come over here after work," said Spike, gesturing to the tray on the table, "That's why I made snacks."
The other Crusaders, even Dawn, fell upon the snacks rather eagerly. Spike was an able chef after all. Dawn was especially fond of his smoked salmon pinwheels.
"What do ya think happened?" asked Bloom as she swallowed down an apple with a layer of smoked gouda melted on top of it.
"I'm not sure," said Twilight, "The article is all that we have to go on at the moment. The description of the pony responsible makes it extremely unclear. Though he was flying, he can't possibly be a pegasus if he has insect wings."
"I'm surprised details were so scarce," observed Dawn.
"Maybe they didn't want to cause a panic," suggested Rumble, "I mean, whatever's going on, it's pretty clear that it's really strange. The description almost sounds like a changeling. Maybe they're trying to invade again."
"No." Twilight's tone was sharp, resolute and...faintly angry. Her outburst caused everypony to look over at her in surprise. Realizing that she'd accidentally drawn more attention than she'd intended, Twilight looked away from the foals and her draconic younger brother. "The changelings aren't a problem anymore. They won't ever be."
"What do you mean?" asked Sweetie, tilting her head in confusion.
"They just aren't. That's all there is to it." Twilight frowned, clearly indicating that they should stop that particular line of conversation from going anywhere.
Though motivated by the classic curiosity of the young, the Crusaders silently decided not to press the issue.
"If I had to guess, Spitfire limited the information she gave to the press," explained Twilight, "She clearly spoke to them, but I think she didn't share everything."
"Why would she do that?" asked Spike.
"Possibly because there's something more personal about this incident," guessed Twilight, "Like if the attacker is somepony she knows and she's trying to settle things before they really get out of hoof."
"This guy destroyed the Cloudeseum," Spike pointed out, "If you ask me things are already-HURK!"
"Spike!" exclaimed Bloom as the young dragon's stomach swelled and his cheeks bulged before he cut loose with a belch of flame that congealed into a letter, which dropped down onto the center of the table.
"Ya okay sugarcube?" asked a concerned Apple Bloom as she rushed to steady Spike, who was looking a bit woozy.
"That was unexpected," said Spike, "Looks like those candles are a bit rougher than Princess Celestia's spell."
"I'm sorry," said Twilight, "I'll let Rainbow know that she should send the candles back until we can get it right."
"It's fine," said Spike, "I was caught off guard. It didn't actually hurt or anything. It feels different from Celestia's spell, so I wasn't really ready for it. It's sorta like when you try to teleport when you're all distracted by another panic attack."
"Spike..." said Twilight in a warning tone, though the relieved smile on her face belied her irritated voice.
Instead of taking things any further, Twilight instead turned her attention to the letter on the table, unrolling and reading it, her eyes moving quickly. The foals and Spike watched and waited. To their unease, they saw Twilight's eyes widening with each successive line. Beneath her coat, her skin was growing pale and her breathing was getting faster.
"Twilight...?" inquired Spike nervously, not liking the panicked look on her face at all.
"Dawn!" Twilight's shout was accompanied by the letter, once again rolled up, being smacked against the surface of the table, the decisive tone in Twilight's voice catching Dawn's complete attention.
"Y-yes...?" asked Dawn, a bit nervous at the unexpected steel in Twilight's voice.
"Get your mom and bring her here...right now!" Twilight gave Dawn a terrified look. "Hurry! I don't want to leave her alone any longer than I have to."
"What do you mean?"
Twilight swallowed hard. "It's Flash Spark. He's the pony who attacked Rainbow and the Wonderbolts."
The door to the library slammed open for the second time that day as a black and silver streak rammed it aside, flashing out and streaking across Ponyville's sky with a rush of wind.
When he'd first awoken with his new wings, Flash Spark had been irritated by the constant drone that accompanied him whenever he took to the air. Now however, it sounded like a comforting hum to his ears as he zipped through the sky with more speed and agility than he'd ever known on his old wings. Truly, this was what it felt like to be a first-rate flyer. This was freedom. This was real power.
He was practically brimming with excitement. He'd confronted the Wonderbolts themselves, the ponies held up as the greatest fliers Equestria's pegasi had produced. They were heralded as representing the best of the pegasus tribes, held up as an example, something to aspire to, something deserving respect. He'd slapped them in the face, stolen their show out from under their wings and destroyed their sway over the crowds. He had done that. He...Flash Spark...
Once he was finished with them, Equestria would see the Wonderbolts for what they really were...losers. They thought they were such a big deal in their pretty uniforms, flying in their neat little formations, basking in the adoration of the crowds. It was no big deal. He could've been a Wonderbolt if he'd wanted. After all, if Rainbow Dash could make it in, then it couldn't be that big a deal.
Rainbow Dash... At the memory of her face, the delicious look of shock she'd been wearing when she'd recognized him, Flash Spark felt a pleasant tickling sensation trickle in from the spots where his wings joined his back, further down the length of his spine from where his old wings had originally been. That tickling sensation made him giggle and shiver. Oh yes! Rainbow's look of shock had been delicious. Flash couldn't wait until he saw her expression once he tore apart the Wonderbolts before her eyes. Then he'd pay her back for the humiliation he'd suffered at her hooves, the humiliation of her rejection. He'd get payback in spades.
The mysterious unicorn had honored his word. He'd given Flash the power of flight once again. The process had been painful as the foreign material was bonded to his body on a cellular level. He'd spent days writhing in agony as the off-white material had slowly crawled its way up his body like some kind of malicious infection, consuming his coat and skin, replacing it with a new shell to hold his organs. It was alive, a living shell that now existed in place of his skin and coat. His eyes were now hidden by lenses that had grown over them, lenses that sharpened and broadened his vision. He could nearly see all the way behind him. His mouth lay concealed behind razor-sharp mandibles, capable of biting through plate steel and into flesh, slicing through tendons and bones with ease. Every part of him was a weapon. Even his tail had been replaced by a segmented, bladed whip.
The wings were the most amazing thing. They caught the light and broke it into countless colors that Flash didn't even have names for. With but a thought, he could change their formation and the sound they emitted became his weapon.
Soon, he thought, soon I'll show all of Equestria just how weak the Wonderbolts really are. I'll make sure everypony sees... As his thoughts continued along this vein, he did not consciously notice the increasingly pleasant vibrations that seemed to transmit themselves from his wing straight up his spine. As it was, he simply continued to enjoy the pleasure and went on his way, gleefully planning his next effort to show the Wonderbolts up.
Caramel gently rubbed his hoof up and down Fluttershy's spine as she leaned up against him, shaking slightly. Upon Dawn's revelation that Flash Spark was on the loose once again, her memories of that night so many months ago came rushing back. She remembered the arrogant stallion's voice, the feeling of him pressing her down onto her stomach. Though Dawn had stopped it from happening, the fear lurked within the depths of Fluttershy's heart.
"Are you sure it's him?" asked Caramel.
"Rainbow's sure," said Twilight, gesturing to the letter, "She said that Flash Spark practically identified himself to her."
"B-but how?" asked Fluttershy.
"None of us have any idea," said Twilight solemnly, "All that we know is that he's much more dangerous than he was before and we probably don't know half of what he can do now. Whatever happened to him, it's changed him radically."
"What took Rainbow so long to write us about it?" asked Dawn, "I would have thought she'd want to let us know immediately about something like this."
Twilight pursed her lips. "I actually think this was written last night." She sighed. "There might still be a few kinks to work out with those candles...but that's a problem for another time."
"So what should we do?" asked Caramel.
"Well...for the time being..." Twilight looked down. "I'm honestly not sure. When I called Fluttershy here, my first plan was to have her move back in with you. I'd feel better if I knew that Fluttershy wasn't spending most of her time in a cottage on the outskirts of town. That was part of what made Flash Spark decide she was a suitable target in the first place."
"I can't," said Fluttershy, "I have my responsibilities to the animals. I can't just leave them."
"But-"
"No," said Fluttershy, her voice unexpectely firm, "Flash Spark scares me, but I won't let him dictate how I live my life. I won't let my fear control how I live."
"Are you sure?" asked Twilight.
Fluttershy nodded. "I have Dawn now. I know that he'll keep me safe."
"But he'll be at school during the weekdays," Twilight pointed out, "Even if he gives up his job at the teahouse, he won't be able to protect you all the time."
"Perhaps we should ask Storm Front and Red River for assistance," suggested Dawn, "After all, this sort of situation is why they are here in Ponyville to begin with. Granted, I'm not the root cause of it this time. But it is still right up their alley..."
Abruptly, the colt froze, an idea suddenly occurred to him. Twilight watched in confusion as Dawn's smile slowly widened into an uncharacteristically mischievous smirk that actually unsettled Twilight and everypony else. Dawn seemed strangely pleased with himself.
"Actually..." he said, "...on second thought, there may not be any need to request extra work from Storm and Red."
"What do you mean?" asked Fluttershy.
"I need to write to Spitfire about something," said Dawn, "I think I know who can help us in this situation."
"You know somepony who can help?" asked Caramel.
"Well..." said Dawn in a cryptic tone, "not exactly somepony..." He explained his idea and laid out his plans.
Twilight didn't look entirely pleased with the idea, but it was clear that she couldn't think of anything better. "I guess that'll work," she said, "If you're really sure we can trust them..." She could only hope that Spitfire, Rainbow, and the Wonderbolts managed to catch Flash Spark soon.
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Comes up with incredibly convoluted plan to fight him when what is really needed is to make a huge lantern and let his insectinstincts drag him into the "pretty light" and light himself on fire at night.
I'm sure he has somegriffin in mind for the job.
excellent!! another amazing chapter. Now i'm curious as to who Dawn is referring to, though. he makes it sound as if he/she/they might be incredibly powerful....is it those griffins from diamond mountain? You've gotten me excited for the next chapter.
A staring contest.....? Hmmmm....And I bet my last bit Dawn's going to hire those griffons from the Diamond Mountain Escapade.
Skan and Zhan, the griffons?
5824150 Oh i Hope its the gryphons. I liked them when dawn ran into them and he got to talking to them.
5824074 that legitimately made my day. And couldn't dawn technically do that with his lightning calling technique?
Gryphon time?
5824150 Most likely them. If not, then maybe Ouranos? Although it seems like he'd be tied up with Spitfire on the hunt for Flash Spark
I'm not sure how Dawn expects the griffons to help. They'd probably be willing to, but they have a minor case of...banishment.
5824384
Given that Celestia trusts Dawn's instincts and these are desperate times... I think she can bend the law just this once for those 2 griffons
It's probably just me, but does anyone else imagine Flash Spark looking like a pegasus General Grievous?
With bug wings of course.
Is it those griffons he fought last story? Booyah! Those two were great. And we get to jump straight to Firefly's training soon. This story just keeps getting better.
5824074
My kingdom for a fly swatter.
5824384 5824479
They were banished from their homeland. They are perfectly fine in Equestria, they just had the trouble of being mercenaries in a land where barely anypony's hiring.
5824515
4 forelegs would fit in with his new insect theme.
Seriously somepony needs to go to jail for letting Spark loose. Heck how did he get out in a few months after these crimes. Assault so bad Carmel was hospitalized, and attempted rape of an Element of Harmony. SERIOUSLY HOW DOES HE ONLY GET A FEW MONTHS FOR THAT!?
5824515 interesting i hadn't thought of that
5824570 thats what i'm betting on, and same here my friend
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also to flash sparkencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRuEwQ8TypLO2OHZVIuvCGc7-o-z3TMGDYi8fbwtpiTas9NFp7EOw
The Griffons? Yeah probably and i like the idea of Rainbow going with Firefly cause I really hope we can see a duel of her just demolishing Flash. I would be ok with that. Terra is the climax so you can just showcase Firefly demolishing him. It'd be a funny thing and I like how animes do it too occasionally.
Alright, a callback to the griffon mercenaries!
Between this happiness, the season 5 premiere, and a good movie I just finished, today has been a good day.
Considering who Dawn actually knows that could be helpful in this situation, I guess he means those two gryphons from Diamond Mountain. Sure as hay isn't going to be Perlin
Though I wonder how easy tracking them down would be. I suppose Arkenstone/Red/Storm have some contacts in the merc world that could look in to it, but that would still take time - I mean, I doubt they are going to be in Ponyville by tomorrow. And that's time Fluttershy especially (and Dawn - Flash will want revenge on him) is in danger ... why do I have a feeling this wasn't the right time to try and be assertive on Fluttershy's part.
Having her spend at least the nights at Caramel's place, in the middle of town, would be more reasonable - at least that way everyone immediately knows if Flash crashes the party, meaning you can get Arkenstone on the scene quickly (who ultimately should be your No.1 choice for confronting unknown nasties of high caliber). She can still flutter over to her cottage and feed her animals/do other chores during the day, but staying the night there seems like asking for trouble.
Granted, that doesn't preclude Flash from simply attacking in the middle of a day - he showed up in Cloudsdale with no inkling of stealth after all - but taking what precautions you can is still better than taking none at all. Ah well, let's see what comes of this.
Spike was an able chef after all.
Well, at least he doesn't seem to be focusing on Fluttershy right now, so that's a plus, right?
...right?
5824074 So like with Turbo in Wreck-It Ralph, I presume?
I LIKE IT!!!
Wohoo!
Zhan and Skan are coming back! I love those two!
For those wondering why enlisting the help of two mercenaries is important, even though they probably won't be able to beat Flash Spark:
The point is to have someone keeping an eye on Fluttershy at al times. They won't be there to "beat" Flash Spark, but to keep him away from Fluttershy while getting help at the same time.
Even if Arkenstone could take Flash Spark out in an instant, that won't do any good if Flash attacks Fluttershy when she's alone.
I was beginning to wonder how long the exclusive focus on Rainbow Dash was going to last. I love Rainbow Dash, but what makes this series great is the interwoven storylines of a large cast of characters.
In the end, I like where this has led to. It was a good introduction to a new threat.
Terra is taking his sweet time, so it's kind of necessary at this point. Not to mention that it fits with all the interconnecting storylines. Morning Star needs a distraction. Badly.
5824515
I do now.
Thanks
I know that this is an overused meme, but it just fits:
i.imgur.com/mSFXk2a.gif
A few errors, though:
Rainbow was definitely
Either add "with" or a comma before "a layer of smoked gouda."
5824074
Considering Spitfire's fighting style ...
Zhan and Skan are coming back!
5824747
If I remember correctly Flash Spark had a previous record of rape with other mares in Ponyville
5824747
5948934
Yes he had a previous record. Which adds to the question. With the following crimes.
Multiple Acts of Rape.
Attempted Rape against a Noble [Special Interest criminal enhancements]
Felony Assault, with attempted felony rape.
Not to mention his attack on Caramel could be counted as a Hate Crime.
Which is by my count 4 Felonies. How in the flipping hell did he only get a few months? Especially (even if she's seen as title only) if a noble was sexually assaulted (well rescued from the attempt, but he planned on going through with it if he wasn't stopped). Which we all know how vindictively anal Nobles can be.
______________________
5954956 That just seems to be the theme of this story. Unreasonably evil idiot tries something abhorrent then is defeated by dawn or the others with them all taking additional risks to keep the perp alive when the world would be better off with them dying and then either banishing them which gives them a chance to come back or giving them their freedom back after they have some sort of epiphany.
The list of enemies that would'nt exist if the characters in this story had just found their balls and offed them before they came back is now.
Flash Spark
Perkin Bluestreak
The entire fucking noble court
The clut solar because Celestial doesn't have the balls to end a fucking terrorist organisation that is responsible for her sisters 1000 year torment
Morning Star ( the main antagonist and source of most of the problems that the people in this story have) because Celestial doesn't have the balls to kill some one who's experiment could litteraly end all life and instead lops off his horn and banishes him even when horns are known to grow back meaning he could just carry out his experiment in a number of years a bit farther away and still end all life.
This entire story would not have had any reason to exist if Celestial had been more thorough with her "banishments".
5954956
Yes, he should have been in longer than a few months. However, the reason he wasn't comes down to a few things
First of all, the author needed a throwaway character that we readers would be willing to hate. Secondly, he can't fly, so his threat level is minuscule.
Think about it; for just about every pegasi, their wings are central to their identity. Morning Star found him in an alley on death's door because he had essentially given up.
Granted, none of these reasons make a great deal of sense from our perspective. However, even his release shows more about Equestrian justice than anything else. First, it shows that they think he's no threat without the ability to fly. It also shows to serve the holes in the system, as they should have kept him longer.
I'm not arguing in favor of his early release. In fact, those who have already shown a disregard of the rights of others concerning unwanted advances should suffer a debilitating chemical castration that has followed a full vasectomy. I'm just stating that these are the reasons why he's where he's at now.
We know he'll get his in the end, as will Morning Star. The bad guy usually does, even in real life.
7319232
No spoilers. But true, you make good points ^_^.
"With all thee things that had been happening lately"
Yeah, we don't need a Gwen Stacy moment
Well, now I'm just curious