Being named Haul-Ass Haycart wasn't the most enjoyable way to spend a childhood.

He was a pegasus colt, with golden-yellow fur and feathers the color of the wheat fields he worked in every day. He had a platinum gray mane and tail from his father's side of the family. His father, an ordinary Earth-Pony, had inherited vast acres of grains, hay, and barley.

Most pegasi born into mixed-race families never received the sort of flight training that young pure-blood pegasi were raised with. For those who could not afford flight school up in the clouds, it was even worse. Haul-Ass, however, refused to let his circumstances define him.

He would fly cartloads of hay into town rather than take the exhausting dirt path through the hills. His father, on watching this, would comment, "You don't need to haul ass like that."

The Haycart family was named for the acres they tended in the Macintosh Foothills, south of Dodge Junction. This had been their simple, peaceful mode of living for generations now, going back for thousands of moons, or hundreds of our years. Over such a long family history, some members did choose to deviate from this course and go against the family grain. This was never much appreciated.

Grumbling and complaining, Haul-Ass checked over the components of the wagon full of hay bales he was attached to. It was firm and ready to go. Next came the only fun part of his routine: He took off at a gallop down the dirt road leading away from home, and where the road took a sharp left as it began to ascend the rugged hills, Haul-Ass opened his wings and achieved liftoff.

The cart bounced twice and then came off the ground too, staying level with him as though from its own volition. This was by far the most uncanny bit of intrinsic magic which pegasi were born with: the ability to tow carts in midair. Most of his magic was innate, except for weather control, and he hadn't really figured that out yet, to his father's chagrin.

"If you'd let me attend flight school, I could learn how to bring the rain!" he would say, to which his father always responded the same, "We can't spare three crops' worth of bits for some sort of fancy club, Haul-Ass."

The young pegasus, covered in dust and mud and sweat from farm life, wore a straw hat and a sour expression. He flapped his wings through the hot, humid air towards the jerkwater town of Dodge Junction. At one point it was a thriving mining settlement. Now it barely existed, supported only by local farmers. It was the end of the line on a little-used side branch of the railroad system.

He didn't want to spend his life farming and he did not want to take over the family business. Any of his brothers or his sister could have the damn place--they were earth-ponies, not pegasi. They didn't know how it felt to him, being a caged bird. Haul-Ass wanted two things most of all: A name change, and to explore to the edge of the world and whatever lie beyond the edge.

The first part was easy enough, just a trip by rail to the capital city to submit a request to the pony in charge of census stuff. The second desire though... three more long years of plowing, digging, watering, flying carts into town. Three years left of labor until he was of age to go his own way, and then he would seek after adventure and become a legend, like his mother, Lightning Ridge.

She would approach him at times, tears in her eyes, as he sat on the roof of the barn under the stars. She would warn him of all the dangers in their world, and of losing her entire left wing. Her son was deaf to her concerns, and his mother was his idol. He never understood why she, a majestic pegasus, a member of the Wonderbolts, a hero, a legend, had settled down on this dusty farm in the middle of absolutely nowhere. She had so much more potential than that.

The seasons came and went as young Haycart endured the next few years of farm life. At last, he came of age and approached his mother about getting his name changed. She heartily agreed. They prepared for the trip to Canterlot the next time the supply train stopped by.

When the day came, they walked into town. The train station was just a wooden deck with creaky, sagging stairs. The rest of Dodge Junction was in mostly the same condition. Lightning wore a hooded cloak which was a faded brown to hide her one wing and avoid questions she didn't want to answer.

While they waited, Lightning talked to her son about his plans. She said,

"Are you going to keep Skyblazer as your official name?"

"Yeah mom, I still like that name," he replied. His mother would never consider calling him "Haul-Ass". He had preferred Skyblazer since he was young. It reflected his desire to explore and blaze a trail, but through flight.

It was his father who had gone to Canterlot to submit the name form, and returned to announce his name was now Haul-Ass. His father and he had never been on the best of terms.

His mother continued, "Do you have any specific goals in mind? What about work?"

"Oh I'll figure out work later. I just want to see the world mom. There's so many cool places I've read about: The Crystal North. The Dragonlands. Cloudsdale. I want to see all of it."

"It does sound exciting, but don't forget to think about finding a job. You won't earn bits traveling the world over."

"Who knows, maybe I'll find treasure?"

Lightning offered a soft laugh, a rare event for her. "Maybe," she said.

The train rolled into town slowly, steam hissing as it came to a stop. Aside from Lightning and her son, there were three other passengers waiting. No one got off, and the train was empty aside from the crew.

They boarded, stowed two suitcases and their saddlebags under their seats, and waited for the train to leave town. Barley Haycart, the father, hadn't even bothered to come say goodbye. He was at home, sottered with beer.

One of the workers, a unicorn, stepped off the train as it began to move forward slowly. The train followed a track in a loop around the tiny one-street town in order to turn back around. As it approached the station again, the unicorn hefted a switch by magic, using telekinesis to switch the tracks.

After the train passed he set the tracks back as they were, and then ran and jumped up onto the caboose. The engine chugged and puffed and picked up speed.

It was lonely, dusty land out here. They wouldn't be passing the forest for a while. Haul-Ass looked out the windows as the dry grasses of the desert passed by.

His mother nudged him. She took off her cloak and set it across the seat in front of her. She extended her right wing, making her missing left wing even more prominent. She began to speak,

"Only your dad and your grandmother know the full story. I think it's time I told you. I'm not trying to rain on your dreams, just telling you to be careful. It starts when I joined the Wonderbolts."

Lightning lie down on the cushioned bench and told her son about how exciting it was. The very best fliers in the world were accepted in, to do search and rescue, air shows, sometimes handle dangerous creatures, nothing crazy. They were technically the air force of Equestria, but that was only in times of war or in major emergencies, and their land was peaceful. Nothing drastic ever happened.

She had no idea how wrong she was.

It happened suddenly, in her fourth year with the bolts. The myth of a second royal deity was true. Nightmare Moon, a black mare with absolute command over dark magic, had made a sudden appearance in the backwoods town of Ponyville. News spread like wildfire as pegasi messengers fled from the scene fast as their wings would carry them and night fell, perhaps forever.

In the lofty city of Cloudsdale, Lightning had been napping on an outlying tuft of cloud at the edge of town. She was enjoying the warmth of the sun against the cold high-altitude wind rippling through her golden fur and feathers, when several pegasi messengers came hurtling back home with enough speed to upset some of the cloud formations around the city. Disgruntled landscapers immediately went about reshaping the clouds back into ornamental pillars and sculptures.

Lightning, disturbed from her slumber, shifted to roll over and see just what in the name of Tartarus was going on. She had forgotten how small her cloud perch was, and promptly fell off into the great blue nothing. With alarm, she spread her wings. She caught an updraft to soar in a swooping arc and alight on the main fluffy structure of Cloudsdale. She shook her head to try and clear the grogginess, took a seat, and swiveled her ears towards the speaker, piqued:

"Nightmare Moon is back, and she's threatening to bring eternal darkness!" the messenger paused here, panting, steam from sweat rising off him in the icy air, "but, but that's not the half of it. Something has caused a disturbance in Everfree, and every monster there is heading right for Ponyville."

A gasp came from the crowd, and Lightning stood back up in fright and concern. She spoke,

"But they never leave the forest! Don't they need the powerful magic there to thrive? And why all at once?"

"Oh, I don't know," wheezed the winded pegasus, "it's insane. It's like something is controlling them. Celestia is declaring a state of emergency, and us messengers are gathering all the Wonderbolts in Cumulus Square."

Lightning lifted her left wing, and used her mouth to open a satchel which was tightly strapped down. She gave a couple bits to the messenger, and told him to buy some sweets to take the stress off. Then, she crouched on the amorphous surface of her hometown and took off with enough force to upset the top layer of cloud like misty dust.

The sun was setting fast now. It already rested on the horizon, filling the sky with streaks of color. It would normally be magnificent. This was far too early for darkness, and the growing shadows were terrifying.

Cloudsdale shrank as her height increased. The great span of her wings beat the air around her. It was always peaceful up here above the cloud level. Just the shrill whistle of the cold winds from the north. The consistent rustle of her wings. Her powerful heartbeat in her ears as she swiveled them flat against her head, tucked in her wings, and tucked into a fast dive towards the center of the city.

Her black mane and tail whipped in the wind as her speed increased, and the town square came wobbling into view. The horizon was somewhat angled ahead of her, and she adjusted slightly with a right wing until the moon and stars were level. Her powerful, hawk-like eyes, while not as effective in the dark, could see the torchlight of the Wonderbolts barracks. This meant the Northern edge of the square.

The building, made of shaped clouds like anything else in this town, was approaching way too fast for a safe landing. She took a cursory glance around for any other fliers before snapping her wings out, catching a strong current, and pulling up into a vertical loop. She fluttered her wings to slow her descent, and then watched the city beneath her spin as she spiraled down carefully, with her eyes on the well-lit barracks to aid her aim in landing.

'Poof' went the cloudy street as she landed gently. Dozens of others were already here, and she was one of the last informed. The ethereal cloud surface by all established physics and logic should never hold their weight. Thankfully, an innate magic pegasi were born with allowed them to walk on clouds.

Surprisingly, the current leader of the Wonderbolts himself was doing role-call and preparing for a speech, rather than someone under him. He acknowledged the presence of Lightning Ridge. Several more minutes went by as the last few pegasi fluttered in, and then he spoke in a hoarse voice:

"My fellow Wonderbolts gathered here today: A time has arisen requiring our service in the defense of Equestria. This is a declaration of emergency; ergo, those members too far for a quick summons will have this message relayed to them by our swiftest units. I regret to state that the time for frivolity has passed, and the risks we are all aware of now present themselves."

There were murmurs of concern and disbelief among the pegasi who had never imagined this actually occurring. Lightning Ridge was taken aback, but knew the risks when she signed on and she prepared for further orders.

"An unknown force, perhaps dark magic in nature, is driving dangerous creatures from the Everfree Forest towards the settlement of Ponyville. The residents have been warned to stay indoors. Commander of Strategy, Midnite Breeze, will elaborate."

The leader of the Wonderbolts fluttered down from the building and flew around the square, shooing curious onlookers out onto the perimeter. A pegasus in the front row of the gathered Wonderbolts jumped into the air with powerful leg muscles, snapped her wings open, and did a barrel roll onto the top of the barracks, settling in front of the podium.

She had sleek, shining, jet-black fur and feathers, although the outer fluff of her feathers and her muzzle had grayed with age. Her body was covered in scars, and she wore an eye patch. As pegasi had an intrinsic magic aura that gave them greater durability than Earth-Ponies or an untrained unicorn, this was not insignificant.

She cast shifty, untrusting glances around the crowd. One ear had the tip missing. She wore some armor on the front half of her body, built around her wings, as well as a helmet built around her ears.

"Thank you, Ragged Edge," said Midnite, as she cleared her throat and then addressed the audience in a gravelly, carefully paced voice, "We are the Wonderbolts. We are the best of the best. There are no higher trained pegasi. And we will protect the civilians below. Division A, front and center, now."

The gathered pegasi shuffled around. The most elite and skilled of the most elite and skilled pegasi in the world stood before their second in command.

"I have received word that a group of six residents have set off into Everfree, heading in the direction of the old castle. I don't know what they're thinking, but Celestia says to let them be and keep an eye on things from above. If they die, we handle Nightmare Moon. I'll take the lead. I need Weathervane by my side, we will generate heavy fog for concealment. Division A, disperse. Division B, gather."

The pegasi did so. Lightning Ridge stepped forward with her division.

"Acrobatics Division all present? You are in charge of resolving the monster situation. Lightning Ridge will take the lead, she has the most experience in bounty hunting of monsters. Due to the unusual numbers and the apparent compulsion to charge Ponyville, avoid confrontation. Divert, redirect, and stall. You will be assisted by the royal guard. Only fight those monsters that are unable to be corralled by magic or wing."

Lightning Ridge was very nervous at being put in charge. She gulped, nodded, and replied, "Yes, ma'am." Her division stepped back so that division C, the Speed Squad, could step up.

"You know your role in times such as these. Scout, relay orders, communicate between the other divisions, report back. Dismissed."

After a chorus of "Yes ma'am" the D division stepped up.

"Specialty Class, you will have individual assignments best suited to your unique skills and abilities. Report to Ragged Edge for orders. Dismissed."

They all shuffled off to the left side of the square where their leader stood.

The last division awkwardly and nervously moved to the fore, some of them on the verge of panic.

"Division F. Reserve duty. One quarter will stand guard in Ponyville and be on alert for any monsters that get past Division B. You will be hitched to supply carts and assist the royal guard in building fortifications.

"Second quarter will investigate Everfree for the cause of the disturbance, led by Sixth Sense from the specialty class. Third quarter, report to the cloudfront over the front lines. You are assigned to ancillary duties. Angel Wings will manage duties and transport the cook wagon and medical supplies.

"Fourth quarter, weather management duties. Create heavy winds and storms to help slow the approaching monsters, and keep the skies over Ponyville cleared. Do not attempt to meddle with weather in Everfree, it cannot be controlled by magic. Wonderbolts, it is time to come to the aid of Equestria. Good luck, dismissed."

Lightning Ridge walked into the barracks, starting to sweat. She received a pack of supplies and met the rest of her division.

Author's Notes:

This is the first book of The Nexus series. This will be a darker and more mature consideration of the world of Equestria, regarding their world if it didn't have the age demographic restriction. Many events and characters are based off canon or implications of canon, while other aspects are original.

This is also a medium with which I may implement certain ideas which I would like to see from the official series. One example is how, in spite of all their careful attention to detail, pegasi can hover indoors without a wind disturbance or the biological capacity to hover. In a world of innate magic, pegasi magic can answer both concerns. Suppose that "air null" and "hover" are both magic pegasi are born with, like cloud control.

If you notice any grammar issues or storyline tangles, please do let me know. Thank you.