Wonderbolts Millennium Rally

by Brass Polish

2 By Popular Demand

The meeting venue was Cinnamon Chai’s Tea & Cake Shop. Rainbow arrived to find Miss Harshwhinny waiting at a table she’d reserved.

“Delighted to see you again, Miss Dash,” she said, not looking the part. “Congratulations. You are the first to arrive.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “No surprise there. Uh, who else I coming?”

“Miss Dust and Captain Spitfire,” Miss Harshwhinny answered.

Rainbow Dash decided to pose Scootaloo’s question to Miss Harshwhinny. “Is that about that Air Sprinting game at the Crystal Empire I’ve heard about?”

“Partially. The plan was to have each of the Wonderbolts compete in an Air Sprint, but…”

“Just the Wonderbolts?” Rainbow’s face fell.

“That’s right.”

“What about the reserves?”

“That would have caused a bit of a clutter,” Harshwhinny shook her head.

“Too bad. I’d love to go into a competition with them,” sighed Rainbow Dash. “Every time I get called on as a reserve, it’s for an acrobatic show and not a race.”

“You’re lucky,” Lightning Dust touched down at the café.

“Huh. I didn’t know you were into that kinda thing,” Rainbow said as Lightning Dust joined her and Miss Harshwhinny at their table.

“You shoulda seen me in Coco Pommel’s Parachute Pinafore at Loch Azure’s BYOM show,” grinned Lightning Dust. “Everyone was on their hooves.”

“Well, it’s nice to see you’ve moved on since you were expelled,” now Spitfire had arrived.

Lightning’s face twitched, but she kept her grin.

Over black forest cakes and orange pekoe, Miss Harshwhinny told Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Lightning Dust that there seemed to be an Equestria-wide debate going about who is the fastest pegasus.

“All day yesterday, Prof Lactic was asking me if I thought I could outstrip you two,” Lightning Dust said to Rainbow and Spitfire.

“Soarin and Fleetfoot were looking over those newspapers from the Arial Relay at the Equestria Games last night,” Spitfire nodded.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I didn’t notice anything. I usually get compliments about my athletic talents from outta nowhere.”

“Everywhere I go,” said Miss Harshwhinny, “All I hear is arguments about you three.”

Cinnamon Chai walked up and refilled Rainbow’s cup. Now Rainbow Dash was grinning. It was clear who the waitress would back.

Miss Harshwhinny pulled out a book. “Furthermore, I found this whilst at the Crystal Spa. It’s a rare one about the early days of the Wonderbolts. It’s likely two of you had to learn this fact for your Wonderbolts history exams. In Chapter 3, it talks about a recruitment stipulation that was implemented by Admiral Fairy Flight. Hmm, Miss Dust, would you know the stipulation I am referring to?”

Spitfire and Rainbow saw that Lightning Dust’s grin had not subsided. She may not have taken the Wonderbolts history exam, but she knew perfectly well what Harshwhinny was talking about.

“Any pegasus who breaks any one of her records can be made a Wonderbolt,” she said. “No academy training or tests or anything.”

This is exactly what Rainbow Dash used to do before being accepted into the academy, and what Lightning Dust was doing now that she’d been booted out; and they both did this despite their knowledge that this stipulation had long been out-dated.

“Now then, having learned about each of your dealings with the organization,” Miss Harshwhinny was now getting to her point, “I would like to offer you a chance to race one another in a contest to decide whether or not the current Wonderbolts recruitment rules shall change. If Captain Spitfire wins, the rules shall remain the same. If Miss Dash wins, passing the history test shall make one a Wonderbolt rather than a mere reserve. If Miss Dust wins, claiming certain records shall make one a Wonderbolt.”

Rainbow Dash was sure that taking part in this race would solve the problem the Cutie Map selected her to see to, so she agreed at once. Lightning Dust did as well, but Spitfire insisted that she run this by her fellow Wonderbolts before deciding. But Rainbow and Lightning were sure she was aching to agree. Before Spitfire left, a crowd had formed around their table.

“They’re all here!” exclaimed Sunshine Smiles. “The champion and the slowpokes!”

“They’re probably gonna settle our bet for us,” droned Moonlight Raven. “Cool.”

Miss Harshwhinny grunted in a dignified way. “This shall hopefully be the only time I give in to popular demand. First I was swamped with requests from the crystal ponies to hold an Air Sprinting event in their homeland, and now this. Captain, you’d better go.”

Spitfire took off to a chorus of cheers from roughly a third of the crowd at the café.

“Whoa. Looks like Spitfire dropped out,” Moonlight grinned.

“She did not!” protested Sunshine.

“She went to confer with her fellow Wonderbolts!” Harshwhinny raised her voice. “You shall all know the outcome by tomorrow morning.”

And so it was arranged. Spitfire had her teammates’ blessing to represent them in what was dubbed by Miss Harshwhinny “The Wonderbolts Millennium Rally”, as it was decided that the event would be held on the one-thousandth anniversary of the first performance of General Firefly’s squadron of EUP pegasi. Rather than a game of Air Sprinting, the event was going to be a combination of a racetrack and obstacle course held at Rainbow Falls. A mountain of tickets were sold on the same day they were printed. If Rainbow, Spitfire or Lightning hadn’t known how seriously everypony in the country was taking this debate, they certainly did now. The three contestants were instructed to stay away from Rainbow Falls while the course was being set up. Three guards were employed to ensure that no informants could infiltrate the setup either, and each guard was rooting for a different pegasus. Placed in charge of safety measures was Prof Lactic, who seemed to be the only neutral pony in Equestria despite living in the same town as one of the contestants. His biggest concern was the well-being of the contestants and the spectators. One of the precautions he insisted upon was a method of holding a racer back if needed. Miss Harshwhinny questioned Lightning Dust about her Manehattan friend’s patented dress. So it was decided that Coco Pommel’s Parachute Pinafore would be worn by all three contestants. Coco happily offered to piece them together, but Soarin recommended Spitfire have one tailored by the Wonderbolts’ outfitter, just in case Coco felt like playing saboteur. And since Rainbow Dash knew a seamstress personally, she figured she might as well take Soarin’s tip.

“She did a good job,” Twilight said as Rainbow Dash flew around Ponyville Castle’s throne room in her fresh Parachute Pinafore. “So, you think taking part in this rally will solve the friendship problem the Map called you for?”

“Sure it will,” Rainbow Dash touched down on the cold floor. “If everypony’s arguing about who’s the fastest pegasus in Equestria, me racing Spitfire and Lightning Dust can put an end to it. Problem solved.”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think the problem will end there.”

“Why not?”

“Say you win…”

“Which I will.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Twilight frowned. “If you win, not everypony will be happy.”

“Why not? My victory will show everyone once and for all who’s the fastest,” said Rainbow.

“I don’t think all of the Spitfire and Lightning Dust supporters will just lie back and accept your victory,” said Twilight. “Ponies can be awfully defiant in defeat. And worse, ponies can be bad winners too. This argument’s not gonna go away after the rally’s over. I’m sure of it.”

“I don’t remember any bad blood after the Equestria Games,” Rainbow Dash said. “No one in Ponyville got mad after Cloudsdale took the gold in Arial Relay, or Loch Azure took the Air Sprinting gold, right?”

“Maybe not,” said Twilight, “but the Equestria Games happen more often than one-off celebratory by-popular-demand races. Every city fares differently at every Equestria Games. The overall outcome’s always different. This rally will decide if the Wonderbolts’ recruitment laws will be altered. The stakes are pretty high.”

Rainbow Dash scratched her chin.

“And virtually every pony in the country has a stake in this. I found something out today. There’s gambling going on,” Twilight finished.

“Gambling?”

“Ponies are making wagers. The betting circle I stumbled upon had its bets up in the thousands.”

“Thousands?!” burst out Rainbow Dash. “Thousands of bits?!”

“That’s how seriously some ponies are taking this,” said Twilight. “If this rally goes ahead, there’ll be more than two losers.”

Twilight could see Rainbow Dash was going to ask for a suggestion.

“It’s your mission, Rainbow. You’ll find a solution. I know you will.”

With this weighty knowledge looming over her, Rainbow Dash wondered if she ought not to have agreed to Miss Harshwhinny’s proposal. She might have looked afraid to settle the dispute, and all those who were rooting for her would be disheartened. And now that she was aware of this widespread argument, she was more aware of all the compliments and votes of confidence she was getting around Ponyville. She noticed that those in her hometown who were on the side of either Spitfire or Lightning Dust would give her a wide berth. Rainbow Dash began to suspect that Scootaloo might be rooting for one of her rivals, because the young pegasus seemed to be avoiding her. The reason for this was because Scootaloo was freaking out inside. She had come to the realization that this life-changing event had come about all because of her. She was the one who started that debate with the Ponyville, Manehattan, and Barrow-In-Harness school ponies, which spread to their respective towns and beyond. In the two days since leaving the Crystal Empire, she never knew that the lively discussions about who was fastest were way beyond the schoolhouse and the new playground. Twilight had told her and the other Crusaders about hers and Spike’s encounter with Starlight Glimmer and Starswirl the Bearded’s revised time travel spell, but Scootaloo asked her to go into more detail after Rainbow left to answer the Cutie Map’s call. Twilight emphasised the fact that the three of them discovered how even the tiniest act can have tremendous consequences. Scootaloo now understood Nyx’s desire to keep the banana sticker on Twilight’s horn to herself. Then, shortly after the Millennium Rally was announced, Scootaloo learned about the gambling that was going on from Diamond Tiara. Appearently Filthy Rich was backing Rainbow Dash and betting Barnyard Bargains. Who knows where this would lead? Scootaloo was getting anxious.

One day, about a week before the rally was to take place, as recess was going on at the Ponyville schoolhouse, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle noticed that Scootaloo had not come out. They knew she was there that day, so they walked back into the school to see if she was still there.

“What are you looking at?” asked Apple Bloom.

“My pencil sharpener broke,” Scootaloo replied, showing them a small plastic cylinder. “The blade cracked. It won’t work now.”

“That explains the mess,” said Sweetie Belle, magicing the pencil shavings off of the floor around Scootaloo’s desk and into the nearby garbage can.

Sweetie Belle took the broken pencil sharpener away from Scootaloo with her magic as well, but Scootaloo grabbed it back instantly.

“We can’t just throw it away!” she barked.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” said Scootaloo. “But it might be important.”

“How?” asked Apple Bloom.

“I just said I don’t know. But Pinkie Pie found Lazybug and Crosspatch in a composter, so…”

“So you think there might be a pony trapped inside your pencil sharpener?” Apple Bloom asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I hope it’s not a unicorn,” shuddered Sweetie Belle.

“Who knows?” Scootaloo shrugged.

This went on for days. As the thousandth anniversary of General Firefly’s squadron’s performance at the First Celestial Year of Peace drew nearer, Scootaloo weighed every decision, not matter how small. Some days, she didn’t always take her scooter to school in case she fell off and injured herself. On these occasions, she was always a few minutes late. One night, when a thunderstorm was scheduled, Scootaloo didn’t sit out on her backyard porch like she usually did. She found she didn’t mind being out in the thunder and lightning so long as she was inches from her house, but this time around, she gave it a miss, thinking she might get struck by lightning on this occasion. The following morning, she discovered that she missed out on something special. Her dad told her that he’d seen a snowy owl land on the backyard fence from the window. Scootaloo had never seen one and was gravely disappointed that she’d missed out. She went and asked Fluttershy if she’d seen this owl, and found that she hadn’t. Then there was the time Cheerilee asked Scootaloo and Dinky to pick teams for a hoofball game in PE class. Scootaloo took so long to choose each pony that the game ran short. Cheerilee spoke to Scootaloo about her decidophobia before recess, and suggested asking her Crusader friends for advice whenever she had to make choices like this again. This didn’t go well, as Scootaloo soon found herself practically at everypony’s mercy. When Rumble was offering animal crackers to the class, Scootaloo made him tell her which one to take. When Silver Spoon and Gilt Eyes asked her if she wanted to play with a rubber hockey puck, she said “Uh… you tell me.” When she found a bit on the ground, she asked a nearby Cranky Doodle Donkey if she ought to pick it up. Cranky thought he’d be a nice guy and told her to take it, but then he was asked if she should spend it or save it. When he suggested spending it, she asked him what she should buy. He backpedalled at this point, but then Scootaloo just asked him what she should save for. Cranky promptly suggested therapy and walked away before another inquisition could bombard him. The problem got so bad, that Scootaloo’s family and friends thought she might not even go to the bathroom without somepony’s consent.

Rainbow Dash came to Scootaloo’s aid by asking her to watch her practise for the Millennium Rally. This proved quite distracting. Scootaloo got really caught up in Rainbow Dash’s speed and acrobatics. Rainbow took it as a good sign when Scootaloo decided all on her own to call it a night when evening fell. After Scootaloo had gone to bed, Scootaloo’s parents thanked Rainbow Dash for calming her nerves. Rainbow thought of another idea to keep Scootaloo distracted, as the young pegasus discovered the next morning.

“I get to wave the flag at the rally?!”

“I went and asked Miss Harshwhinny, and she said you can,” grinned Rainbow Dash. “Frankly, I think she’s still blown away by that flag waving routine you and your friends put on.”

“Thank you so much, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo jumped around in elation.

“Let’s practise a bit, huh?” Rainbow Dash passed a flag to Scootaloo and took her into the sky.

Scootaloo stood on a cloud holding the flag. And when she waved it, Rainbow took off and rocketed through the sky, looping, spinning, and curving with amazing grace. Other pegasi gathered to watch. Scootaloo’s time was cut short as she had to get to class, so Silverspeed agreed to take her back down to land. At the end of the day, Scootaloo was surrounded by happy talk. The rally would be happening the following day, and the argumentative banter had been replaced by excited pre-event chatter. Scootaloo asked Flitter, who had rang the school bell that day, to take her up to where Rainbow Dash was still practising. When they arrived and Scootaloo had jumped onto a cloud, Rainbow Dash was deploying her chute like she did every few minutes during practise. Rarity had done a great job; the chute never failed to slow her to a halt once. Rainbow retracted the chute and started doing circuits around the perimeter of the town.

“Hi, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo called as Rainbow passed her cloud. “You’re looking great!”

“Thanks, kid!” Rainbow turned her head to wave at Scootaloo.

BAM!

Rainbow’s broken concentration caused her to crash into Thunderlane and High Note. And Scootaloo’s fear of making decisions stampeded back.

Author's Note:

If the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration has taken place and we've had one more since then, there'd have to be a thousandth anniversary of the Wonderbolts, right?