The Heart of Pleasure
By Haunter Rayne
Chapter 13 - Invitations and Obstacles

The Castle of Friendship stood quiet with mostly everyone gone. The halls stood unwalked while the books in the library sat unread. With no immediate emergencies the hall of friendship sat empty as the map of Equestria showed the land as it always had. Only down a single hallway did movement stir as Starlight Glimmer looked in through an open doorway.

“Poor Spike.” She whispered softly while staring into the little dragon's bedroom. There Spike lay in his bed, sleeping while wrapped up in more blankets than usual for comfort. Starlight closed his door and stepped away quietly. “Sweet little guy. You rest and don't take things so hard.” Walking back into the map room Starlight sat in Twilight's empty chair with a spell book to begin reading. However she was soon interrupted as the front doors to the castle swung open with two ponies entering inside. “Oh hello, welcome back girls.” Starlight said putting the book down.

A yellow pegasus with a light pink mane walked in followed quickly by an all pink earth pony who was bouncing as she stepped. “Good afternoon, Starlight. It's nice to see you today.” Said Fluttershy.

“Hiya! Is Twilight in?!” Pinkie called as she hopped into her marked seat before Fluttershy politely slid into her own seat.

Starlight smiled and responded kindly. “Thank you Fluttershy, it's nice to see you too. And no Pinkie, Twilight isn't back yet. She left as soon as Spike got back. He seemed really bummed. I guess he didn't have any luck. Did either of you two find her?”

Both of the other ponies shook their heads. Fluttershy pointed out, “No one has seen Rarity since Rayne visited her at the boutique earlier this morning.”

Starlight thought for a moment. “I'm sure that she will turn up. Knowing Rarity she probably got excited with some amazing new design and just ran out to get supplies for it without telling anypony.” But then she stopped and looked back to Fluttershy curiously. “Uh, who is Rayne?”

Pinkie jumped in her seat, “Oh he is only this totally handsome and mysterious unicorn who came from across Equestria all by himself just to move to Ponyville!”

Starlight raised an eyebrow curiously as it wasn't normally in Pinkie's nature to comment on another ponies appearance. “Oooh, handsome and mysterious you say?” She waved her mane. “I wouldn't mind meeting a stallion like that." But then she paused and cleared her throat while blushing a bit. "Hehe, sorry. I think some of those cheesy romance novels that Twilight has in the library are getting to me.”

Pinkie just grabbed a hold of her bottom hooves and started rocking in her seat. “You know, I did just throw a big welcome party for him last night. Why didn't you meet him then?” Pinkie asked.

Now Starlight leaned upwards in her seat looking both surprised and disappointed. “But, I was here studying all last night. Why wasn't I invited to his party Pinkie?”

Fluttershy looked shocked. “Oh dear, you didn't even know?” She asked concerned.

“Oh of course you were invited! I put your invitation right here in my mane so that I would remember to give it to you when I saw you!” Pinkie said before pulling a bedazzled purple envelope out of her hair and then held it out for Starlight.

The unicorn just stared at her flatly. “But you didn't see me yesterday Pinkie.” Starlight growled.

“I know! That's because you were cooped up in here studying silly.” She said unphased. There was an awkward silence as Pinkie continued to smile holding the invitation letter out for Starlight. “And now I've seen you!” She added.

Starlight continued staring flatly and Fluttershy bit her lip starting to get nervous from the tension. “And the party was yesterday?” Starlight growled harder.

“Uh huh.” Pinkie cheered, eyes closed and smiling wide.

“Um, girls?” Fluttershy whispered but then hid just peeking over the table as things seemed to escalate.

“And that's the invitation?” Starlight glared.

“Yup!” Pinkie said excitedly.

“To the party that's over?”

“That's right!”

“Which you're giving me the invitation to now?”

“You've got it!”

A long silence then pervaded the room. It was as if there were a staring match between Starlight’s glare and Pinkie's smiling teeth. Fluttershy looked from Starlight’s scowl to the envelope being held out and then to Pinkie's teeth. She felt like the tension would crush her as again she looked from scowl, to envelope, to teeth. “... scowl… envelope… teeth… scowl… envelope… teeth!” The pegasus started sweating until she could no longer bare it. “STARLIGHT JUST TAKE THE ENVELOPE!!!” Fluttershy eventually shouted. The chandelier above shook from the force of her scream but the two other ponies remained unchanged. A moment later though Starlight levitated the envelope over to her and took hold of it. Pinkie looked to her now seeming very excited. Starlight gave another pause before opening the envelope and received an explosion of glitter all over her still scowling face. There in front of her were little paper pop out words that bounced around saying ‘You're Invited!’

After that Pinkie sat back into her chair feeling completely pleased with herself and said, “Hehe, I knew she'd like it.”

Fluttershy started trembling as she feared how Starlight would react. However it made her look over curiously as the unicorn just started to laugh. “Hahahaha oh Pinkie hehe, hahaha. You're so silly! This invitation was perfect, thank you. I'm sorry that I missed the party. Maybe I'll see this new pony around some other time.” The three smiled together until they were all made to jump in fright when the front castle doors were suddenly burst open.

"Or maybe you'll see him now." Fluttershy pointed out as they all looked down the hall.

“Whoa! Is that him?” Starlight asked as she watched a large unicorn running their way. Her eyes spread wide as she saw his long flowing mane that billowed out around him like smoke. She adored that he had a big wide chest and how it flexed as he ran. His eyes had a determined stare making him seem confident and fierce.

“Yup! That's him!” Pinkie affirmed happily, not seeming to be phased by Starlight's reaction.

“Oh, oh and look! He's got Rarity with him. She's been found! … Yay.” Fluttershy said giving a calm exclamation.

However as the unicorn pair came charging into the room, Rarity's demeanor was anything but joyful. “Quick! WHERE IS SPIKE!?” She screamed as they ran inside.

- Far Above Ponyville -

“Wooooow, it's awesome!” Cheered a group of blue suited pegasi. Standing in front of a newly renovated training field was a brilliant gold pegasus with a striped amber mane. She wore an instructors vest adorned with medals and had a whistle dangling from her neck. The group of pegasi in front of her marveled at what she had brought them to see but her face showed that right now she was ready to get down to business. Blowing her whistle Spitfire called the whole group to attention.

“Alright now listen up! Here stands the newly assembled Wonderbolts Obstacle Training Course. The biggest one ever constructed. It is an intensive five minute long run of turns, tumblers, tunnels, twists and take downs! Passing this gauntlet is going to take more than just speed or flashy showmanship. It is going to take brains, precise aerodynamic flying and strength of more than just your wingpower! Each challenge in this course was carefully designed by master athletic strategist ponies who set this up to be nearly impossible. But you know what I think ponies? I think we are going to make it possible!” She cheered.

However the Wonderbolt Captain was surprised to be interrupted by an arrogant remark from the group. “Not to worry! We'll be setting records on this course by lunch time, heh. As long as everypony can keep up with me that is.”

“Crash!” Spitfire yelled, singling out Rainbow Dash from the group.

Immediately the multicolored pegasus stopped grinning. “Yes ma'am?!”

Marching over right up into Dash’s face Spitfire yelled, “Something on your mind got you extra pumped today Crash?!”

Rainbow Dash now smiled back confidently knowing she did have a little extra inspiration since the previous night. “Yes ma'am!”

“Hmpf, well good because you're going to need it! You're all going to need your A-Game and bring whatever inspiration you can here! Because starting today, passing this course will be a new requirement for all current and future Wonderbolts!” She said, turning her back to the group as they all suddenly shouted in surprise. Upon hearing their initial complaints Spitfire was quick to blow the whistle on them. “Alright let's tighten it up ponies! I don't want to hear any lip from you Clipper! Dizzy Fly, I expect you to keep it together! Hoof-in-Mouth, let's not have any today! Am I understood?! I said, AM I UNDERSTOOD?!”

“YES MA'AM!” All of them shouted in unison with Soarin, Misty Fly and High Winds biting their lip. Beside them stood Rainbow Dash, Fleetfoot, Blaze, Surprise and Thunderlane who were all keeping their cool but also looked concerned.

Spitfire stomped her hoof confidently. “There is a reason why this new obstacle course will be so rigorous! It will not be part of a new aerial routine... It will not be for competition or performance practice... It is to help you slackers SHAPE UP!” Now all of the Wonderbolts faulted a bit. “Let me ask you something ponies… when Canterlot is in trouble who do they call? The Wonderbolts! When danger is attacking a town who steps up to help? The Wonderbolts! We aren't just show ponies! Putting on performances and doing tricks is supposed to be what we do on our OFF TIME! Yes it's true that having Princesses and the heroes of harmony are a great help... but the Wonderbolts are supposed to be Equestria’s first line of defense!” Several of the bolts cheered in agreement.

“However…” Spitfire said while not joining in on their cheers. “I had a chat with Flash Magnus now that the heroes of old have been brought back. We had a really long talk as I gave him a tour all over Cloudsdale. I wanted him to get a good look at the city that the Wonderbolts defend and call their home. I showed him our headquarters, our training grounds and even where we perform in our stadium. And you know what he thought?” All of the bolts were grinning proud until Spitfire yelled out, “HE THOUGHT WE WERE SOFT!” She bellowed out crushing their smiles. “And as a matter of fact, I happen to agree with him! He told me all about how the old legion would defend Equestria from threats and how no matter the danger they would HOLD THE LINE!”

Not wanting to break their spirits Spitfire stepped up to the group and started walking up and down their formation. “Now don't get me wrong. As impressive as the old legion was, they were no Wonderbolts. Our squadron here can do many things the legion could not. Magnus was very impressed with our aerial capabilities.” Then she returned to standing in front of them. “BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH!”

Spitfire had a very determined stare as she yelled out, “The Wonderbolts have gotten sloppy on their job as defenders for Equestria! Aerial performance capabilities will always be an essential task for what we do here. But from now on, any pegasi who is unable to pull their weight as a defender of the realm will have no place on the team and I will be forced to cut them off from their status as an official Wonderbolts member!” Spitfire just held her head high as the entire squad gasped out in shock.

“You can't be serious?!” Soarin asked.

“You mean you'd really make cuts to members who are already fully fledged Wonderbolts?!” Surprise asked in disbelief.

Spitfire just held up her chin. “That's right! I'm deadly serious about this Clipper and don't you doubt it for a minute there Slowpoke! It is an honor and a privilege to be part of this crew! It's not something you pass a test for just to get in. It's an ideal that you live up to everyday that makes you a part of this team! Guys listen, I'm not going to ask for the impossible here. Rainbow Dash, I am sure glad that you and your friends are around to help us out when there are villains like Discord out there. No matter how hard we train there is no way the Bolts can stand up to magic like that. So thank you.” She placed a hoof on Dash’s shoulder and smiled.

But then she straightened up again with her sunglasses over her eyes. “But that does not excuse Wonderbolts from flying into a giant water tank when they are supposed to be saving Ponyville from a dragon!” Immediately Blaze, High Winds and Surprise all blushed shamefully. “Nor does it excuse the entire lot of us from letting a magic stealing monster take all our powers. Worse yet, an entire military force invaded during the Festival of Friendship and we couldn't even slow them down! This I find to be UNACCEPTABLE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME WONDERBOLTS!?”

“YES MA'AM!” They all cheered.

Now Spitfire spoke like she had a fire lit within her. “Wonderbolts, I call on you to fulfill the duty that you were meant for! I call on you to protect your home! To protect your families! Do not worry about the chopping block. You are here because you are already the best of the best! Danger is going to come again to Equestria and whether a Wonderbolt or not are you going to sit around and let it endanger those you care about?!”

“NO MA'AM!” The Bolts all cheered.

“Do you want to shape up and learn how to defend them?!”

“YES MA'AM!”

“Then let me see you give it your all! They said that this course was impossible. But for my loved ones I would do more than the impossible if it was to protect them! I don't just want each of you to beat this gauntlet. I WANT YOU ALL TO CONQUER IT! I want you to beat it again and again until you've memorized it and can do it blindfolded!

“Let me at it! I can do it!” Rainbow Dash yelled out spontaneously.

“That's it! Thank you Rainbow Dash! DO YOU PONIES WANT TO STAND HERE LISTENING TO ME TALK FOREVER?! ARE THE REST OF YOU GOING TO SIT BACK AND LET CRASH DO ALL THE WORK?!” Then the other Bolts looked to each other excitedly.

“Heck no!” Called out Thunderlane.

“We can do it!” Shouted Fleetfoot.

“Come on Bolts! It's time to fly!” Soarin yelled before leaping into the air.

“Hey! Not without me you're not!” Called Rainbow Dash.

Then one by one each of them sped off from where they stood. “THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO SEE! GO, GO! YOU CAN BEAT THESE CHALLENGES!” Spitfire shouted. She watched as all of them lined up at the starting line and then at Soarin’s call they all shot into the obstacle course together. However as soon as they did, Blaze and Highwinds flew into a tunnel barrel with no exit at the back of it. Then Misty Fly and Thunderlane got caught in a spiraling set of loops they were supposed to be flying through. Rainbow Dash and Soarin both missed a challenge entirely as they flew past a set of slick barricades they were supposed to each slam out of their way. Fleetfoot and Surprise both ended up getting themselves stuck to those barricades instead. And the two that zipped passed both got knocked to the ground by revolving pillars. It was a loud symphony of crashes, bangs, screams and thuds to the floor from all of them.

Spitfire removed her sunglasses to rub her eyes in frustration. “Oh come on! This is a five minute long course! Not one of you made it passed thirty seconds or even correctly through the third challenge!” She yelled, reprimanding the lot of them. “BACK TO STARTING POSITIONS! We're doing it again!”

- Later At The End Of Day -

“Alright Wonderbolts, let's hit the showers!” Spitfire called out after falling from a spinning tunnel that creates a tornado of wind that must be flown through. The Wonderbolts all limply started to walk themselves toward the central compound. Each of them were looking in bad shape. Once in the locker room the complaints started from the bruised and battered pegasi.

“That was horrible! I don't understand why that course had to be SO difficult!” Surprise whined while applying ointment to a bad scrape on her hoof.

Thunderlane stepped up with a towel around his neck. “Yeah, I'm not normally one to complain but that was pretty extreme even for us.”

“Can, ow-, you guys, ouch, please keep it down! OW!” Blaze winced holding her head that had a large bruise while Misty Fly was bandaging one of Blaze’s wings.

“Hey now cut that out!” Called a voice from the back. Stepping around the lockers came Spitfire fresh out from the shower room. “That doesn't sound like winner talk to me!” She looked over everyone with a stern eye. Several of the Wonderbolts looked sorry for complaining but they all still seemed a bit upset.

Fleetfoot spoke up next, “Yeah but... none of uth were winners today Thpitfire. You know that I would normally never question your command but not a thingle Wonderbolt made it to the end. You and Rainbow were the only two to make it to the three minute mark.” She said with her light lisp that none of them had ever seemed to mind.

Sitting on a bench in the corner Rainbow Dash suddenly snapped to attention as she heard her name. “Huh?! Huh, what?!” Spitfire just frowned disapprovingly.

The commanding pegasus just gave a single loud stomp to the hard floor. “And how exactly do you win at getting better?” Everpony paused as they listened to Spitfire. “When you set yourself a goal that you have to work to achieve, how do you fail at reaching that goal if you never give up and keep striving for it?” Spitfire looked around seeing the heavy hearts in the room seem to lighten. “That is what I thought. I said it before, the Wonderbolts have gotten sloppy. You guys are slacking by thinking you're already the best that you can be! Listen everypony, you guys are amazing! You can do things that no pony else can do. But I KNOW that you can do more. I'm just trying to help you reach your full potential.”

“When I was a little filly,” Rainbow Dash said drawing everyone's attention, “I always dreamed of being here. Flying with the rest of you was all I ever wanted! But no matter how hard I tried I just wasn't ready until I grew up. I had to practice. I tried to show off, but it took me time to get better. When I first started competing in real races I didn't even place in the ranking. But I didn't let that get me down. It took me years but now I'm here and I couldn't be happier. Listen everypony, we might not conquer this obstacle course in one day. But I know we can do it! And just think of how much better we will be as fliers when we do!” Now the faces of the others really seemed to brighten. “Come on Flatfoot and Slowpoke… you think I have the name Crash because this job is easy? That would be SO boring if it were!”

All of the Wonderbolts laughed at that, Spitfire included. “Haha well said there Crash. Alright everyone, we didn't make it all the way through but you all did good today! I mean that. Fleetfoot, you were sharp. Way to stay focused.”

“No one inspires me like you do Commander!” She cheered, heading out the door to go home.

“Thunderlane, great power but you've got to work on your agility!” Spitfire commented as he smiled and also headed out the door. One by one Spitfire gave each Wonderbolt a review before they left. But then the amber pegasus walked up the rainbow colored member of the team who had returned to spacing out in the corner. “Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire yelled.

“YEEEEEE!” Dash yelled being completely startled. The pegasus jumped so hard that she fell off of the bench and landed painfully onto the tile floor. “Oowww! What was that for?!”

Spitfire looked down disapprovingly. “THAT was to bring you back down to reality! What is with you? You've had your head in the clouds all day! You told me this morning that you had something on your mind to get you pumped but it looked to me like whatever you've been thinking about has just been a distraction.”

Rainbow Dash lowered her head and didn't even try to argue. “I know, I'm sorry. I don't have any excuse for letting my concentration get broken.” She said standing up and making her way out the door. “I'm just going to crash in the Wonderbolt dorm tonight instead of heading home. I've got to get my head in the game tomorrow.” Spitfire let Rainbow Dash leave without argument but being an experienced commander she could recognize when one of her fliers had a problem they were struggling with.

Author's Notes:

Yeah sorry for that tease in the beginning if you thought that was Rayne and Rarity running in through the doors of the castle. You're going to have to keep reading to find out what happens with Spike. I do think that the scene between Pinkie and Starlight was pretty funny though.

So who likes the idea of the Wonderbolts getting shaped up a bit by the old legionnaire? That is what defended Equestria before the Wonderbolts anyways. This chapter didn't go into detail for the obstacle course but future chapters will. Also I just wanted to say that writing Spitfire yelling at everpony was a lot of fun. I also enjoyed looking up the nicknames of all the Wonderbolts to make sure I got them right. Soarin is Clipper, Fleetfoot is Flatfoot, Misty Fly is Dizzy Fly, High Winds is Hoof-in-Mouth, Surprise is Slowpoke and of course Rainbow Dash is Rainbow Crash.

Lastly, I hope that Fleetfoot wasn't too hard to understand with her having a little bit of a lisp. She takes a bigger role in later chapters but I'll try not to have her speech impediment become too impeding to the actual story.