Rainbow Dash had been doing one of the things she does best when she happened to see something interesting. She was just perfecting her slalom using the trees at the edge of the Everfree forest when she looked up and saw a group of pegasi she had never seen before. Leading the group was a dark grey one with a blue mane; out to either side of her was another, a slightly darker grey colt with a mohawk on one side and a blue pony who looked to be about Rainbow's age if not younger out on the other side. In back of the group was a lean sexy pink pegasus who was flying with a massive white stallion lugging a crate. The thing Rainbow Dash noticed most about these pegasi was that they all had matching flight suits. She was instantly jealous; she had to find out where to get one. She raced towards the group, eager to find out where this flashy group of fliers got their gear.

"Hey, you guys! Wait up!" she called, ascending to their height. The lead pegasus shouted something to the ones out to each side. They turned around and started flying towards Rainbow Dash, much to her delight. The dark grey colt flew up to her; the blue mare stayed a few yards back. Now that she was closer, Rainbow Dash noticed that her mane and tail seemed to have electricity flashing through them.

"Whoa", she murmured to herself.

The grey colt came within a few feet of Rainbow Dash and spoke to her in a smooth but firm tone. "There's nothin' to see here, sweetheart. You should go home."

Rainbow Dash was undeterred. "But I just wanna know where you got those cool fli-"

Charger cut her off by placing a hoof over her mouth, and speaking even more smoothly. "Come on now gorgeous, be a good girl and go on home. This is a dangerous place for a pretty mare like you", he crooned.

The plan backfired. Rainbow Dash became angry, swatting away Charger's hooves. "Back off, dude! I don't even roll that way!"

The grey pegasus hovered, thinking. He turned to his comrade. "Blitz, keep an eye on me. You'll know when to make this interesting."

Rainbow Dash's anger continued mounting; she became aggressive, bringing her face near Charger's as she shouted, "Make WHAT interesting, chump?"

Before Rainbow Dash had a chance to react, Charger brought the edge of a hoof across her face, snapping her head to the side. He darted away from her, shouting behind him, "Come get me, girly!"

Rainbow Dash rocketed after him, yelling ahead, "You're toast, you jerk!" Charger stopped just short of the forest, letting Rainbow Dash charge at him full speed. At the last second, he rolled out of the way causing her to careen past him, straight at a wall of trees. She flared her wings hard and managed to turn just in time. The very tips of tree branches whizzed past her stomach as she turned around and stopped, facing away from the forest. She looked around to see the grey pegasus coming at her like a freight train. She readied herself, drawing back a hoof; the second he got close enough, she'd knock his lights out. Just as Charger was closing in, Rainbow Dash threw her hoof forward with all her might, spinning herself around. At the last second, the colt turned straight up and flew over Rainbow Dash at perfect ninety degree angles, something she didn't believe possible.

From her position over the trees, Blitz giggled and cheered. "Woo! Go Charger!"

Rainbow Dash looked into the forest. Hovering in a clearing in the trees, smiling devilishly, was Charger. Rainbow Dash darted in after him, feeling confident. "I've been flying this stretch of forest for years now; there's no way he can out maneuver me here", she thought to herself.

As it turned out, she was wrong. She chased Charger high and low, left and right, through the tightest clusters of branches that allowed room to fly through. He was deliberately avoiding open space and with good reason. Any time he went longer than a few seconds without turning, Rainbow Dash would catch up to him, only to lose him again at a hairpin turn. A few times he even went so far as to do a loop and end up behind her, which infuriated her to no end. Finally it became so frustrating that Rainbow Dash had to think of a way to outsmart this agile flier. She cut a hard right and exited the forest, gliding along the tree line. Upon catching sight of Charger she anticipated his flight path and rushed ahead, darting in on an intercept course. For a moment it seemed like she would tackle Charger right out of the air. At the last second he caught sight of her and dropped extra low. His belly brushed the ground as Rainbow Dash whizzed over him. Despite evading the attack, Charger was not happy. He didn't like close calls that he didn't set up on purpose, and that was as close as he was about to let any call get. He turned his head skyward as Rainbow Dash curved around for another charge.

"Blitz, eyes on me!"

Charger blasted off in a straight line, trying to put as much distance between himself and Rainbow Dash as possible. Rainbow Dash blasted forward, accelerating as fast as she dared to accelerate this low to the ground. She was gaining on him, but he had a massive lead.

Meanwhile, Blueball Blitz watched intensely from above. She made her way over to a more strategic position, deeper in the forest. With the tree line on Charger's left, Blitz knew she'd be less visible if she were to stay to his right. She bolted ahead of them both, settled down in the shadow of a tree, and waited patiently. When she saw the two ponies approach, she blasted upwards.

Charger poured all of his strength into accelerating forward, but Rainbow Dash kept gaining on him. Finally, she felt as though with one more push she just might reach him. She pushed forward a little more, reaching dangerously high speeds for her current altitude. Suddenly, she was forced to throw her hooves into the dirt and flare her wings, skidding to a very hard stop. A lightning bolt had cut her off, shooting across her path completely horizontally. Rainbow Dash followed it with her eyes. It arced up high into the sky like a firework, but instead of exploding, it curved high over her head and suddenly blasted straight towards her. Before she could move, it struck the ground to her right.

Rainbow Dash never had a chance to react to the dark blue pegasus skidding towards her; she drew back her rear hooves and slammed them into Rainbow Dash's side. The fierce elctric buck sent Rainbow Dash sprawling across the ground with a loud crack. She felt a popping sensation in her side as she rolled along the ground, somehow managing to hold her wings to her body to prevent them from being snapped. She rolled to a stop just outside the treeline. Her body twitched and jerked; she tried to scream in pain, but the muscles in her throat were still seizing up. As the electric current subsided, Rainbow Dash began to regain a degree of control. She weakly voiced the only thought she had.

"H-help…"

Rainbow Dash tried to stand, but the explosive pain in her side caused her legs to buckle. Her breathing became quick and shallow; it hurt to inhale. She knew she wasn't in immediate danger of dying, but she had to fight to keep from passing out from the pain. Her vision blurred. A grey blob suddenly hovered over her. A crisp voice said to nopony she could see, "What a shame. The Shadowbolts could have used a flier like that." She heard the clop of hooves trotting away. The sound of hooves grew again as somepony stepped into Rainbow Dash's fading line of sight. It was the blue pegasus. She had removed her flight goggles and Rainbow Dash had the privilege of looking into her bright pink eyes. The contracted irises acted as funnels for the insanity pouring out of them. She was grinning from ear to ear.

Blueball Blitz leaned close to the sky blue pony and spoke in a bubbly voice, barely audible over the violent crackling of her mane. "Bye-bye, cutie-pie! Sleep tight!" She giggled and kissed Rainbow Dash on the forehead before turning and popping her right in the mouth with a swift hind hoof. Rainbow Dash's head snapped back, and she succumbed to her injuries, fading out of consciousness.

***

Apple Jack ambled gently along in the cool night breeze. Having worked hard all day, she felt that she needed to do something to help her relax. She just happened to be out for a peaceful night walk when she saw the bolt of lightning strike the edge of the Everfree Forest. She thought nothing of it until that same bolt of lightning left the forest at a horizontal angle, arced upward in a massive circle, and struck again.

"Now what in tarnation was THAT?"

Worried somepony may be in danger, Apple Jack began to walk towards the forest. As she got nearer, she saw a troupe of pegasi flying away. One of them was carrying a large crate. Something stirred in Apple Jack's stomach. Her blood ran cold. She became stricken with worry, then fear, then all out panic as she sprinted to the edge of the forest. She felt, she knew, something about those pegasi spelled trouble. As she crested the slight hill leading to the treeline, she saw a crumpled shape in the moonlight. She would have missed it had it not been bright blue. Apple Jack's heart began to race as she ran towards the blue shape; upon getting closer, her suspicions were confirmed. It had a rainbow colored mane and tail. It wasn't moving.

"RAINBOW DASH!"

***

Rainbow Dash awoke to the sound of hooves and her name being called. Her immediate first reaction was to scream in pain; her ribs felt as though they were being pried from her body. As she began to gain a bit of control, she spat out a mouthful of blood. She was relieved to find that it came from a severely split lip as opposed to a punctured lung. Craning her neck, she looked around and saw an orange earth pony trotting mercifully towards her. No longer in a state of total panic, Rainbow Dash let tears of pain, frustration, and shame flow freely from her eyes. Apple Jack began to run upon hearing Rainbow Dash sob, and when she reached her friend, she couldn't help but gasp.

Rainbow Dash's side had swollen up where her ribs were clearly cracked if not broken altogether. Her mouth was red and swollen from where she had gotten kicked. Apple Jack quickly put her muzzle under Rainbow Dash's head and began to help her up.

"Now don't you fret none, sugar cube", Apple Jack said nervously, scarcely concealing the trembling in her rushed voice. "You're gonna be alright. We're gonna get you to Nurse Redheart right away, ya hear?"

Rainbow Dash whimpered in pain as she forced herself to her feet. She leaned her uninjured side against Apple Jack as they began the slow painful walk to the Ponyville Hospital.

Luckily, Nurse Redheart was awake, tending to a pony with a stomach virus. Upon seeing Rainbow Dash, she also gasped. Nurse Redheart helped her into a bed, gave her a mild sedative, and started her on an IV to restore hydration. When Rainbow Dash complained that she couldn't sit comfortably Nurse Redheart also administered a mild painkiller which helped to calm Rainbow Dash down considerably. She dimmed the lights as she walked out with Apple Jack in tow. Outside of her room, Nurse Redheart interrogated Apple Jack about Raibow Dash's condition.

"Apple Jack, what happened to that poor pony? No mere flying accident could crack her ribs like that. And she looks like she took a hoof to the mouth!"

"Ah couldn't tell ya exactly what went on, Nurse Redheart. Ah'm not too sure mahself. All Ah know is Ah saw this crazy bolt of lightning strike the Everfree Forest and then shoot back up in the sky and strike it again. Ah rushed over to see what all the commotion was, and Ah saw these five nasty looking pegasus ponies flyin' away. Ah'd never seen 'em before, but from what Ah can gather, they messed up Rainbow real bad."

Nurse Redheart was shocked; violence was never a problem in Ponyville. "Do you know if she's made any enemies recently?"

"Well, she can be a mite hard to get along with at times, but Ah can't think'a any reason anypony would haul off n' wail on poor Rainbow Dash like that."

Nurse Redheart nodded. She made some quick notes on Rainbow Dash's chart and moved to walk away when something stopped her.

From the room a scratchy voice called weakly. "AJ…"

Apple Jack's face was stricken with worry. "Ah'm comin, sugar cube."

Apple Jack stood by Rainbow Dash's side as she tried to explain the events of the evening. "They call themselves the Shadowbolts. They're a group of pegasi. Criminals or something. They had a big box with them." She coughed, causing her to wince in pain

Apple Jack could tell her friend was struggling. Gently she coaxed, "Take yer time, sugar cube. Nopony's rushin' you."

Rainbow Dash continued, dazed from her injuries and the painkillers. "There was one named Charger, and one named Blitz. Blitz was the one who hit me. She's got some weird power. She can ride a lightning bolt."

"That musta been what Ah saw", Apple Jack muttered to Nurse Redheart.

Rainbow Dash finished. "I tried to catch them, but they were too fast." Tears came to her eyes as she said this. She looked up at Apple Jack. Her voice cracked as she spoke. "It's a good thing you came along when you did. Otherwise I might have had to tell everypony I won the fight", she laughed weakly, wincing once more. Apple Jack wrapped her front legs around her friend's neck, resting her chin on her head.

Nurse Redheart moved toward the door, softly saying, "I'll give you two some time."

Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment, but Apple Jack could feel her tears on the base of her neck. Rainbow Dash spoke again in a whisper. "I was so scared, AJ."

"Ah was too, sugar cube. For a minute, Ah thought you were…" Apple Jack's lips trembled furiously; she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. Tears flowed freely from her emerald eyes. She kept Rainbow Dash wrapped in her forelegs for a few minutes longer, pressing her face into Rainbow Dash's mane; she feebly returned the hug with one foreleg, crying softly into Apple Jack's neck. Finally, as she began to calm down, Rainbow Dash spoke again.

"If you tell anypony you saw me cry, I'll buck your teeth out."

Apple Jack laughed weakly, wiping her eyes. As she gazed upon the fragile face of the blue pony before her, she was again moved with emotion, and an urge struck her; she moved her face towards Rainbow Dash's. She stopped only when she remembered her painfully swollen mouth; hesitating, she raised her lips and lovingly kissed her friend on the forehead, hoping she hadn't sent the wrong message to her. She hadn't, judging by the weak smile of understanding and appreciation on Rainbow Dash's battered face. Though she said nothing, Rainbow Dash felt her heart flutter; the gesture was nicer and was much more welcome coming from kind beautiful Apple Jack, her dearest friend, than from murderous wild-eyed Blueball Blitz, the psychopath who nearly ended her life. Rainbow Dash pulled from the hug, wincing in pain, and spoke again.

"We've got to get Twilight to tell Celestia about the Shadowbolts. Those pegasi are a dangerous bunch."

Apple Jack nodded in agreement. "It sure is a dark sky that that bunch flies in. Ah'm just glad yer alright."

"Me too. I'm gonna get some rest, AJ. Come see me in the morning." The final sentence seemed to be more of a plea than a command. Apple Jack nodded and ran a gentle hoof over Rainbow Dash's ear and mane before she walked out. Each pony prayed her blush would not be noticeable to the other.

As Rainbow Dash sat in the dark quiet room, her thoughts turned back to the Shadowbolts, specifically Blitz. Those insane eyes were burned into her mind forever. As Rainbow Dash sat wincing in pain every time she inhaled, she found a new resolution to work towards once she was fully healed.

Rainbow Dash vowed to take down the Shadowbolts by any means necessary.