Cloudsdale: Wonderbolts Academy

Lightning Dust flew through the skies high above Equestria to the city of Cloudsdale and the Wonderbolts Academy. Co-Founded by General Firefly and Commander Hurricane, its original purpose was to teach the best of the best and prepare them for Equestria’s air forces and aerial combat. That purpose still remained to this day in a sense, but because Equestria hadn’t gone into war in centuries, not since the rise and fall of King Sombra of the Crystal Empire that purpose faded from most ponies’ minds. Nowadays, the Academy’s main purpose was to simply teach Equestria’s elite flyers on how to put on grand stunt-shows. Many had walked into this academy, but few ever came out with the fabled Wonderbolts Wing Insignia pinned to their jumpsuits. Lightning Dust had nearly been one of those many ponies who hadn’t, if not for the intervention of an unlikely friend in her main rival for the gold pin that marked one’s status for being the lead pony in a squadron. While Lightning knew she would just have to settle for wing pony status and a silver pin, she was content with the fact. Now she needed Rainbow’s help once again.

“Can’t believe I have to ask her for advice again. I mean, I’m Lightning Dust, a freaking Wonderbolt for crying out loud! Wonderbolts shouldn’t have to ask for advice, they know how to handle situations in their own way!” Lightning thought.

“...And yet, that was the kind of thinking that got me nearly kicked out of the academy on my plot in the first place. I mean, sure, you were trying to hold up to your father’s ludicrously high standards, but you were a fool plain and simple. Creating a tornado that nearly swept up Rainbow’s friends? What the Tartarus were you thinking?” Lightning reprimanded herself as she landed on the runway, her wings folding up. Lightning moved her flight goggles up into her lightning yellow mane. “Spitfire was right. I bucked up big-time. Me and my ego were writing checks my body couldn’t cash. Thank the Mystic Mother for Rainbow Dash. She certainly lives up to her Element.”

As Lightning walked forwards she was greeted by a mare with yellow and amber streaks in her mane and wearing a navy blue suit with numerous badges pinned to it. Spitfire took off her sunglasses in surprise.

“Lightning Dust?” Spitfire asked in surprise, her eyes widening. “There’s no training routines scheduled for today… Not unless General Derecho changed his mind without telling me first.”

“I know, Captain.” Lightning replied, saluting almost at once. “But actually I came here looking for Rainbow Dash. Asked around Ponyville, and everypony pointed their fingers up here.”

“Ah, I understand,” Spitfire said. “Unfortunately, I don’t know where she is right now. I’ve been so focused on the paperwork I didn’t even see her arrive.” She admitted with a tinge of embarrassment in her tone.

Just then, a mare with a pure white coat almost completely covered by her flight suit ran up excitedly, at the mere mention of Rainbow Dash’s name. She had a cute little red bow in her mane, which was a mix of varying pink shades making it resemble a strawberry milkshake in some manner.

“Hey, wait, you’re talking about Rainbow Dash?” The mare asked in an excited tone, reminding Lightning of that teenager she saw around Ponyville at times, Scooter-something or other. “I think I saw her practicing her variation on the Filly Flash Maneuver over by the hoops. It was awesome!”

“Thanks!” Lightning said before realizing she didn’t even know WHO to thank. “...Er, who are you again?”

“Angel Wings! Part of the official Rainbow Dash Fanclub!” Angel said ecstatically. Both Spitfire and Lightning stared at her.

“Do I even want to know?” Spitfire asked.

“So, where do I sign up?” Lightning deadpanned, and Angel held out a flyer and a pen missing her sarcasm entirely. At Lightning’s look, she laughed nervously.

“...Oh, that was sarcasm wasn’t it?” She said sounding a little bit hurt. Lightning ignored her and walked off with Angel hanging her head and murmuring “...I thought she really wanted to join.”

True to Angel Wing’s words, Lightning did find Rainbow over by the practice hoops that dotted the sky attached to various clouds. Rainbow, in a flurry of color, was darting from cloud to cloud rebounding off of them in flashes of light till she rocketed through the hoops and bucked a cloud out of existence entirely. Rainbow then landed on the grass and smirked at Lightning’s impressed look.

“Okay, even you gotta admit that was pretty awesome.” Rainbow bragged as she took out a water bottle and drank it down.

“Puh-leeze, I bet I could do that move sooooo much better than you.” Lightning scoffed.

“You wish, but you’ll never keep up with me.”

Those words sent Lightning into a flashback, one that took her back not too long after she’d been re-instated into the Academy.

“We can't be together Lightning. I'm sorry. Our relationship... It'd be toxic. We're like oil and water, we go together, but we don't mix. We'd wind up killing each other before we ever had sex with one another.”

Lightning shook her head to clear herself of those memories.

“So, something on your mind?” Rainbow asked as she wiped sweat off her face.

“It’s… It’s about… Gah, why is it so hard to get these words out of my mouth?” Lightning spat.

“Hey, can’t be that hard,” Rainbow remarked before deadpanning “That is, unless you’re talking about something so super embarrassing that’ll end your social life as you know it. ...Wait, that isn’t it is it? ‘Cause if it is, I don’t think you want to speak about it out loud.”

“It’s not that…” Lightning trailed off. “It’s about The Hu-Er, Robert Williams. Honestly, I’ve been so nasty to him and yet after Princess Celestia’s speech earlier I’m beginning to wonder if that attitude of mine towards him is really so warranted.”

“Alright, you know what?” Rainbow asked. “C’mere and sit down. Sounds like you need some good old fashioned Rainbow Dash style advice.”

Again, Lightning was sent into a flashback…

Lightning punched a wall in frustration. She couldn’t believe her own stupidity. She gazed down at where the gold pin that would have marked her as the leader of her flight squadron used to be. Looking up at a portrait of her father, him seemingly judging her she screamed and ripped it off the wall before throwing it to the side. There was a shatter of glass, and the portrait frame fell to the floor in pieces.

“Are you happy now Dad!?!” Lightning yelled to nopony in particular. “There, I got into your damn academy and first day of training, I get kicked out because of my own stupidity and the advice you fed me! “Always strive to be the best, no matter what it takes!” Well, apparently what it takes can get ponies killed!”

A few minutes later, Rainbow found Lightning curled up into a ball sobbing, her flight goggles tossed aside and the portrait of Wind Rider smashed. She wanted to brush it off as Lightning having a temper tantrum over not getting into the Wonderbolts reserves, but her instincts told her different. She knelt down next to the former recruit and laid a hand upon her shoulder.

“Hey… Something wrong?”

“NO!” Lightning snapped, tears streaming down her face. “You got what you wanted, you’re a lead pony and I’m kicked out like you wanted. Are you happy now?”

“N-No… I’m not,” Rainbow admitted. “I wanted you to be by my side, flying up there with the best. Sure, you were reckless, but so was I at one point. Come on, maybe I can get Spits to give you a second chance.”

“Doubtful,” Lightning scoffed. “I screwed up majorly today. Dad would be soooo proud. Puh, he may think himself great, but really dad, you’re just an ass.”

Rainbow looked at the portrait of Wind Rider, and then back at Lightning before her eyes widened in realization.

“Wait, you mean your dad’s…?” She asked in shock.

“Yeah. He’s not as great as you think he is, newsflash. He always has these incredibly high standards. He always put my brother, Sky Stinger on a pedestal, telling him he was going to be his successor and left me to wallow in the dust, the dick. He always tells me that I’ll never live up to his son. Well, guess he was right all along.” Lightning muttered.

“So that’s why…” Rainbow realized before she snarled. All she ever wanted to do was be like one of the greatest flyers to ever live. Now, all she wanted to do was help Lightning.

“What about your brother? What does he think about all this?” She asked.

“He hates it, he always told me I’d be a good flyer despite whatever dad said. That’s what I wanted to do today, prove my dad wrong and Sky right. I failed at both.” Lightning muttered and Rainbow smiled.

“Not yet you haven’t. Everypony deserves a second chance, even you.”

Reluctantly, Lightning sat down next to her friend, who put a hand on her shoulder just like she did a few years back.

“You know what I think? Trust him, do what your heart thinks is right. I mean, a superhero is gotta be someone you can trust, right?” Rainbow commented, shocking Lightning.

“H-How’d you know?” She stammered out in shock.

“Please, a new guy shows up in Ponyville and not even a week later a new Power Ranger pops up as well? You’d have to be an idiot not to make the connection,” Rainbow remarked. “Honestly, how everypony hasn’t made the same connection like I did is beyond me.”

“...Well, Rarity did.” Lightning replied.

“Well, that’s Rares for you. Always got an eye for the little details. ...Actually, now that I think about it she did say she was working on something special for a certain someONE a week or so ago.”

“Yeah, turned out to be a trenchcoat with the words “Fighting Fox” emblazoned on the back in big orange letters. Robert hates it to no end actually.” Lightning laughed and soon Rainbow joined her before she smiled.

“Now, who wants to see if they can make it to the other end of the runway and back?” Rainbow challenged and her friend smirked in response.

“You’re on, just don’t come crying to me when you lose.” Lightning laughed.

“Trust me, I hate losing so that won’t happen.”

Lightning took off running then, much to Rainbow’s annoyance.

“AW, COME ON! I didn’t even get the chance to say ready, set, go, yet!” She yelled and ran after Lightning all the while thinking “Oh, she’s so going to get it. Yep, definitely going to get it.”

Ponyville Police Station:

The doors of Ponyville’s only police station slammed wide open and Robert Williams stepped in with a very displeased look on his face. Ponies at their desks turned to look right at him, dropping whatever they were doing and one muttered “Oh boy…”

Robert walked up to the desk sergeant and slammed his hands on his desk, knocking off a bobblehead of a police-pony and sending it crashing to the floor.

“Where’s the cell you’re holding Suri Polomare in?”

“Now wait, you just can’t come barging in here and start making demands like you know everything!” The desk sergeant demanded. He was a big, burly pony that reminded Robert of Vernon Dursley from the Harry Potter books and film series. The kind of man who was used to getting his way all the time and blustered and boasted about his accomplishments to anypony who would listen. Robert rolled his eyes, this was hardly going to be a challenge and might actually be a bit fun.

“You don’t even have the jurisdiction, animal!” The stallion yelled, and now everypony had turned to look at the developing scene. “Tartarus, you don’t even look like any cop I ever saw!”

“Funny, the only animal I see around here is you…” Robert trailed off, taking a quick look at the guy’s name-tag and couldn’t help himself from laughing out loud. “All Bark, and see this?”

Robert then pulled out his SPD Morpher and flashed his badge.

“This proves I AM indeed a cop, and I do have jurisdiction over this case. Hell, last I checked, I was the one who brought Suri in. Unless that slipped your mind when you were too busy chowing down on donuts.” Robert deadpanned and smirked when the stallion roared in rage and leaped over the desk at a surprising rate of speed. He lunged at Robert who simply sidestepped out of the way and let All Bark hit the floor.

“Well, isn’t that interesting? His name fits,” Robert mocked before he then asked in an annoyed tone of voice “Now… If you excuse me, does anyone else have any issues?”

He crossed his arms and folded them across his chest, and raised an eyebrow almost as if he was daring anyone to challenge him.

“Okay… Maybe it’s a bit evident that I’ve watched Gokaigers a bit too much. Seriously, this pretty much something Marvelous might do.” Robert mused to himself with a chuckle. Somewhere in time and space, on a red galleon with the exact same appearance to the Skyship, a man with black hair and red long coat sneezed and his eyes shot wide open as he sat up.

“Oi! Who’s been talking about me?” The man demanded.

Back on Equus, Robert found himself directed to one of the interrogation rooms by a black-maned mare named Carter. While he was forwarded to the interrogation rooms, he saw a grayish pegasus with a pink bow in her opal toned mane arguing with what he guessed to be her sister who was sitting in a holding cell.

“Was it really worth it?” Flitter yelled, tears streaming down her face. “Attacking a Princess out of sheer fear over someone you hadn’t even met!?!”

“He brought that monster to our homes and destroyed Ponyville! That’s justification enough in my book!” Flitter’s sister yelled back angrily.

“W-What happened to the sister I grew up with?” Flitter asked. “B-Because, because that’s not the one I’m seeing here in front of me.”

With those words, Flitter walked off and the sounds of sobbing could be heard, not just from her, but from her sister as well. Meanwhile, Robert stood outside the interrogation room door. Shouting could be heard from the other side. Very angry shouting.

“We’ve been holding her in here ever since you brought her in. She’s been yelling for a lawyer, but I don’t think she has the money to pay for one.” Carter remarked and Robert chuckled out “Well, suppose that’s what you get when you practically become a mare of the night. Seriously, spending time with her wasn’t almost worth the information I was going to get from her. ALMOST.” Robert specified. “Honestly, what you do with her after I’m done getting information out of her I could care less.”

With that Robert walked into the room and pulled up a chair and sat across from Suri at the other end of the room, arms folded.

“So, we meet again,” Robert said casually. Suri simply spat in his face.

“Go to Tartarus, I was simply making a living and you had to ruin it.” Suri snapped.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t call whoring yourself out a job per se… Okay, I might do that as mares and women do love a guy in uniform, but let’s not get caught up in hypocrisy eh?”

Suri snorted angrily, glaring right at him. “Fuck you,” she growled.

Robert sighed and shrugged, “Sorry Suri, but we both know how that turned out for you.”

Robert leaned forward, propping his elbows onto the table, giving her the full ‘bad cop’ stare that made minor criminals piss themselves. “Now… Let’s get right to business eh? You know, me doing something nice, namely trying to find out who put Sunset in the hospital… It kind of gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling inside that I hate so much,” Robert deadpanned and got up off his chair and leaned in close to Suri’s face. “Now let me get one thing clear from the start that you should have figured out the moment you met me… I’m not a nice person. And for this past week, I’ve been more pissed off than usual, which is saying quite a lot. So if I were you, I’d give me the information I’d want to know.”

Suri spat in his face again. Robert sighed before going for his phone and looking through the music he had saved for his special kinds of torture and picked out Syd’s self-titled single “Me.”

But to his shock, Suri was actually enjoying the music and bobbing her head along with it. Robert slammed his head against a wall and muttered: “Okay, wasn’t going to bring this out till I had a chance to screw with some nobles but she’s forced my hand…”

Robert then found another track.

As soon as the song began to play, Robert began to imitate a certain dance, all the while wishing he had a suit and tie to complete the picture as Suri stared goggle-eyed at him in bewilderment. Robert then shouted, “Hey Carter, you got any knives?”

“No! Why?” Carter shouted back, not sure if she wanted to know.

“Just asking,” Robert replied cheerfully. “Might come in handy here.”

Suri then realized what Robert planned on doing to her as he gazed intently at one of her ears.

“Okay, okay! I’ll talk!” Suri yelled out in fear. “It’s this guy, goes by the name of Biff Interrobang! He was the one who led the mob who attacked Sunset!”

Suri continued babbling about how Biff might have gang connections to a doctor whose name Robert didn’t catch as he let out a snarl and then looked directly at Suri with the music still playing in the background.

“For the record, I was completely kidding about the knife. You’re such a baka-whore.” Robert remarked and gave out a growled out statement of “Thanks for the info.” and exited the room and turned to Carter.

“She’s all yours, with all the information she spilled I’m sure you can charge her with something. Now, if you excuse me there’s business to attend to.”

Unknown to anypony, a white furred pegasus with a pink mane listened in on the whole conversation and teleported away just as soon as Robert ran off...

Ponyville Hospital: ICU Ward

The soft beeping sound of Sunset’s heart monitor was the only sound in the room as the Phoenix Ranger slept in silence. Then, the beeping turned to a long flat sound and as she walked by, Nurse Redheart dropped her clipboard and ran off tears brimming from her eyes as she shouted “Doctor!”

Meanwhile, a figure wearing a pure white robe with a headdress over her mane walked through the hospital, nopony seeming to notice she was there despite the pure level of magical power she radiated. Without even making a sound, she walked into Sunset Shimmer’s room. As she saw the fallen Golden Ranger, her eyes lit up with a show of many colors. With a wave of her hand, a multicolored magical aura began to cover the Princess of Empathy feeding her with pure Morphin’ Grid energy. The figure spoke.

“Now, Sunset Shimmer… Awake and burn brighter than ever before. There’s a storm coming, and you must be there to meet it.”

With that, two green tinted eyes shot open with a start.

The Prancing Pony:

Interrobang smirked to himself as he drunk a glass of fine wine over his victory. Sunset Shimmer was in the hospital and that disgusting excuse for an ape had been taught a lesson. It didn’t matter to him what Princess Celestia said about humans, all they did was cause destruction no matter wherever they went, leaving ruined lives behind. He considered teaching this human a lesson about messing with the superior master race a favor for him.

Just then, there was a loud explosion as the doors to the Prancing Pony blew inwards knocking them off their hinges and the sounds of Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation began to play. An angry voice filled the room.

“BIFF INTERROBANG!” Robert roared out in rage and everypony’s heads turned to him and stepped very clear of Robert as he slowly strode towards the pony in question.

“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Biff asked, not even looking at who had shouted his name. However, when Robert grabbed him by his jacket and whirled him around so they could see each other face to face, his eyes widened.

“You and I… We need to talk,” Robert growled out before Biff kicked him in the legs and sent Robert staggering back but was grabbed and thrown into a table where a game of cards was being played smashing the table in two and sending the cards flying everywhere. Robert smirked.

“What do you know? 52 pickup. My favorite game,” Robert commented and picked up a card and inspected it before he chuckled out “Ace of Spades. Must be my lucky day.” as he tossed it away behind him.

Biff came charging towards him again fist drawn back but Robert caught it and tossed Biff into the bartop. But he wasn’t done yet. Robert grabbed him by the back of his jacket and slid him along the top off its end. Biff grabbed a beer bottle and tried to take a swing but Robert punched him, sending him toppling to the floor. Robert then held his Crystal Saber to his neck and growled out “Now, the only reason I’m not removing your head from your neck is these powers should never be used to strike out in vengeance, even if I rightly should use them after what you did to my friend PRINCESS Sunset Shimmer. Besides, I think whatever Princess Celestia has in mind for you, it’ll be far worse than anything I can dream up and believe you me, I can dream up a lot of things.”

Biff’s eyes widened out in fear as he realized just how big of a mistake he had made. Robert meanwhile was beginning to dust himself off when four Royal Guards arrived led by a pure white pegasus stallion.

“We heard about a commotion. I assume this is… it?” The stallion asked nervously, looking at Biff’s bloody and bruised form.

“Hardly a commotion. More like somepony getting his sorry worthless arse kicked and taught a lesson about reaping what he’s sown,” Robert said coldly and gestured to Biff. “Take this slimebag away, do with him what you want. I could care less.”

Biff screamed and pleaded for mercy but Robert had none and simply watched as he was led away by two of the Royal Guards and he smiled. However, that smile was soon to fade when he felt two sharp spears pressing up against his back.

“You’re coming with us,” A female voice Robert recognized as one of the guards sent to spy on him before ordered. “Princess Celestia’s orders.”

“Yeah, I doubt that highly. If Sunset put her faith in Celestia, so should I. Might not be very cop like of me, but I’ve never been much of a good one anyhow.” Robert thought and then smirked.

“So, how’d she get to you? Threats against your family, yourself? If it’s anything else, don’t expect me to show any sympathy when I send you lot packing to the hospital wards.”

“M-Money.” The female guard said, her voice quavering in fear and Robert sighed. “Figures. That’s what it always is with corruption. I heard that’s what Grumm did with the A-Squad, offered them quite a lot of Space Bullion and where did it get them? Oh right, confinement cards.”

Robert then whirled around to knock the guards back with kicks to the face and as they staggered back their spears flew from their hands.

“I much prefer a good hand to hand brawl anyways,” Robert commented and cracked his knuckles. “Your boss wants me dead, she can come down and do her dirty deeds herself. Tell that to her when I’m done with you.”

The guards, much to Robert’s surprise actually put up a very good fight. Now that he hadn’t caught them off guard in any way, they could actually counter and block any of his punches or kicks. At one point, he tried a Chinese kick boxing maneuver, but the attack was caught and he was thrown to the ground. Robert then tried to kick the guard in question in the chin as he recovered, but the guard jumped to the left and kicked Robert in the chest sending him flying across the room and into the bottles of beer stacked behind the bar-top. The glass cut into his skin, leaving his back bleeding. As he staggered and tried to stand, he thought to himself as he clutched his Morpher.

“Could easily morph and take these two out right now, but I don’t want to alert Solar Flare to who I am just yet and who knows how many other eyes are watching. Something like this attracts a lot of attention, after all.”

“Give up yet? Your humans were always second best, second rate.” The female guard asked and in her place, Robert saw Charlie of the A-Squad and he remembered the footage of her from the SPD files.

“Funny, someone else said something like that to some friends of mine. Guess what happened?”

“Your friends, got their asses kicked like I expect.” The male of the two guards replied as he and his partner advanced.

“Wrong,” Robert snarled, shocking them both.

“It was the other way ‘round. Just doing what you’re told, right? Just like the Nazis did when Hitler ordered them to round up the Jews and gas ‘em. I have a friend who’s Jewish, and I’m half German so you can imagine that’s a very sore spot in my heritage,” Robert snarled, looking directly at the female of the twosome. “You know, I had high hopes for you, not being Celestia’s little puppet and dancing to her strings, but guess I was wrong. You guards all seem to be the same except for a rare few like your Captain, Shining Armor. He knows when to question orders. You’re like sheep, you are, always waiting to be shepherded around into your pen by the local Border Collie.”

“How dare you!?!” The female roared, angered that Princess Celestia was compared to a dog. “You can’t defeat us, and you know it.”

“That’s right… Bitch. I do know that. I was only buying time. You haven’t noticed yet, have you?” Robert asked while smirking and both guards felt a very warm presence about then and turned to see Princess Celestia behind them. Her eyes were flaring in anger and the snow around her was melting from her sheer presence. Next to her was Steel Sentry and another guard who quickly cuffed the two traitors.

“Looks like you two just got demoted.” Robert smirked.

END

Author's Notes:

Okay, so things are really heating up now. Robert nearly crosses a line, and Sunset awakens at last. Anyways, I think it's time for the poll results of Bunglay's next ranger and villain puppet revival spree to be released. Here we go.

Whiger
Adam
Doggy
Leanbow
Koragg
Scorpina
Robo Knight
Z

Let's let these lucky bastards be honored! (Okay, maybe not such an honor considering how they'll be used.) ...Honestly, I was surprised no one picked Troy just to see that poor excuse for a Red get beat up, considering how much everyone hates him. I mean, that was the exact reason I put him there in the first place. But anyways... Next time: A Golden Homecoming! (Also, huge thanks to Son Elec for providing a description of Angel Wings and to Magic Step for Biff's last name.)