The Fanatic

"How could I have been so stupid. I don't have time for friends. What if I am right about Nightmare Moon?" Twilight said as she piloted the Charun in the direction Applejack pointed out, south from Sweet Apple Temple.

Twilight, I have known you since I hatched, what is your deal with making friends? Spike asked.

"Friends waste time. Time, that can better spend to furthering knowledge. In this case, if I am right, I can come up with a means to stop Nightmare Moon." Twilight answered somewhat dismissively.

Spike wanted to comment in his usual manner, but this is something for him to actually speak. "You're going to drive yourself insane if you don't take breaks." He 'said' in Draconic. Spike longed for the day when he could speak in Basic, but that is at least a year out. "Why do you think Celestia bans you from the Library and puts a spell on your books so that they won't open one day every week. You cannot keep studying and worrying about things you cannot control."

"What about all that time I spent at Sweet Apple Temple? I would be ahead of schedule." Twilight pointed out speaking in Draconic as well. "And have everything likely down by now." Twilight continued.

"HEADS UP!" Twilight turned and saw a... rainbow... coming right her and Spike. After doing some quick math Twilight realized that the rainbow can't avoid her, but she could just dodge it.

"Dah!" Twilight screamed as she was successfully able to pilot the Charun so that the rainbow would miss it. However, the skyboat was still hit by the wake of the rainbow. Fortunately, the wake didn't hit the broadside and there was very little shaking. Spike clung on to Twilight's clothes as tight as he could, but he wasn't screaming in fear.

After the skyboat was corrected, a figure landed on the deck. She was a young woman about Twilight's age. She stood a little shorter than Twilight with a build of an athlete-acrobat. Her hair was the rainbow Twilight saw earlier, and was done in a high ponytail, clipped with clip decorated with a cloud and three-colored lightning-bolt, those colors were red, yellow and blue. She is dressed in light leather armor, feathered pauldrons, dark teal gauntlets with malachite stones on the back of the hand, and long, similarly colored boots, with tiny ethereal wings floated next to the ankles. "Sorry about that. But skyboats aren't to fly at this altitude." the woman said as she looked around the skyboat.

"What were you thinking? Do you know how fast you were going? You could have killed me!" Twilight shouted at the woman that almost crashed into her.

"You don't look dead to me." the young woman commented un-phased.

"That's not the point. You were reckless and could have collided with me. I should report you." Twilight almost screamed.

"Yeah, but um part of that report will be the altitude you're flying at and at this altitude, you would be breaking the law." the woman retorted.

"Regardless. What were you trying to do, break the sound barrier!" Twilight was not really asking, the idea of one breaking the sound barrier is just too fantastic to believe.

"Well... yeah. I am trying to perform a Sonic Rainboom." the woman answered matter-of-factually.

"A sonic rain-what-now?" Twilight asked not familiar with the term the strange woman used or much of Skyborn folklore.

"Sonic Rainboom, it's a sonic boom that gives off a rainbow. Only the best elementalists can do it as the old stories go. If I can pull it off at the Flyers Competition, I can leave this Weather Management behind once and for all." The woman said too caught up with herself.

"Weather management? You're Rainbow Dash, aren't you?" Twilight asked.

"The one and only. What have you heard about me?" Rainbow Dash asked a huge smile on her face as she sticks out her chest as a conquering hero.

"That when you do your job you're the best, but I fail to see how that is possible, Magiville is scheduled for clear skies this afternoon, not partly cloudy," Twilight commented as she looked around.

"I'll get to them later." Rainbow Dash said dismissively.

"La..la..later." Twilight said as her left eye twitched.

"Yeah, once I finish training for today."

"What could you be training for, besides the impossible?" Twilight asked at a lost.

"Well, let's see, I am a Skyborn Elementalist, I am trying to perform a Sonic Rainboom... I must be aiming to be the next big music icon here in Mystica." Rainbow said sarcastically clearly not hiding that she rolled her eyes. But as she placed her hand on her chin. "Although that may not be a bad idea. I think I can convince AJ to play the base, Rarity is differently the piano, I am so over the guitar. But what about the drums?" Rainbow muttered the last bit as if she's giving her sarcastic comment some serious thought.

"So, you want to be a Wonderbolt?" Twilight concluded.

"Not just A Wonderbolt, I am going to be THE Wonderbolt, I am going to break every record in the book and make so much more!" Rainbow answered a little too proud of herself.

Twilight looks around and then turns to Rainbow Dash. "I doubt the Wonderbolts would accept someone who doesn't take their job seriously." Twilight all but challenged.

"Two." Rainbow Dash said holding up two fingers.

"What?" Twilight asked.

"Two shots and the skies will be cleared," Rainbow said as if she's done it a thousand times.

"Impossible." Twilight challenged.

"Get a mop, because I am going to awesome all over this place," Rainbow said as she took her bow off her back and readied it with a big grin on her face. Rainbow colored lights glowed from her fingertips and a string of matching colors appears on the bow as well as similarly colored arrow manifested as if it was knotted. She aimed and stroked one cloud not far away caused it to transform into a twister. "One" Rainbow Dash counted and readied her next shot. "Two" she aimed and fired at the twister. This caused the twister to ricochet off each of the clouds clearing the sky. Once the twister died out the skies were clear. Rainbow turned to Twilight. Rainbow could not help but gave a triumphant smirk.

Twilight's and Spike's jaws hang open in utter stupidity at what they just saw. After shaking herself out of it. "Well, that was..." Twilight is at a loss for words.

"I am awesome, I know. That's why I am the head of Magiville Weather. So, you still think the Wonderbolts won't accept me?" Rainbow asked rhetorically while high on herself.

Twilight conceded the point. "Alright, you made your point. There is still the issue of you nearly colliding with me."

"It was a near miss and technically you're at fault." Rainbow pointed out.

Twilight cannot argue with her. "Fine. But watch where you're going." Twilight conceded.

"So, where ya heading next?" Rainbow asked.

"I am looking for the druid in charge of the music," Twilight answered.

"Fluttershy? I forgot she's in charge of the music. Either Vinyl or Octavia, heck the two doing an instrumental duet would have made more sense if you ask me. Oh well wasn't my call." Rainbow Dash said dismissively.

"Who and who?" Twilight asked.

"You'll meet them soon enough. I can give you directions to Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash offered.

"Sure why not, Applejack gave me directions to you." Twilight acknowledged.

"See that tree line. Let's see," Rainbow looks at the watch she has. "When you see a cottage, take a left and when you hear like fifty birds singing in harmony you'll find her. Or you could wait at the cottage." Rainbow directed.

"Thanks, anything else I need to know?" Twilight asked.

"Three things, 1) You'll want to travel on foot, you'll miss Fluttershy if you fly. She's a Skyborn like me, but she's not that great at flight. 2) She's really bad at meeting new people, so try not to sneak up on her. 3) You might want to keep your familiar on your shoulder, Fluttershy's main companion, Angel Bunny, is a monster, while no one really cares what happens to that rabbit, your lizard is kind of cool." Rainbow… complemented Spike.

"Spike's a dragon," Twilight commented before Spike could say anything to her.

"Correction, it is cool. You might want to cast some sort of spell that makes him look like some kind of real lizard, well catch ya later, pal. I got two more attempts for a Sonic Rainboom in me today." Rainbow said as she jumped off the skyboat very much like a scuba diver before pulling up before she reaches the ground.

That's two...

"Don't say it, Spike. I doubt she counts, she almost killed me." Twilight said as she landed the Charun. After putting the boat into her tome, Twilight head in the direction Rainbow Dash pointed.

It has been a point of pride that Mystica's crime rate is practically non-existent, sure the nation has experienced the occasional collateral destruction of property, but that has often been the result of accidents. Every once in a while a Skyborn may attempt to thwart the passing of the seasons, or a Magicborn may use their power inappropriately typically due to a mental breakdown, but in Celestia's reign there has only been one true criminal... a former Wonderbolt, and of the corps she truly lived up to the title before her fall. Her name was Nightshade and while others 'officially' hold each and every record, it was only because of her imprisonment that her titles were stripped. She was in the only true prison in Mystika, the Stonlingrad Penitentiary and was likely going to be the only permanent 'residence'. The former Wonderbolt looked to be in her late thirties almost forty, starless night black hair, skin fair but paling due to lack of sunlight. She has red irises and to be fair, she's a fairly attractive woman. Despite everything she was still as fit as she was when she arrested.

Currently, she's counting the tiny holes in her ceiling of her cell, it was either this or another four hundred pushups until her next meal arrives. "359, 360, 361, 362, 363..." she said out loud, bored out of her mind.

"364..." Nightshade hears a man's voice. "Good Afternoon...Nightshade, I assume." Nightshade gets off her bunk and saw what looked like a man that was one with the shadows in her cell.

"Hello, shadow creeper that got into my cell. What do you want?" Nightshade said neither amused nor shocked nor surprised nor angry if anything she sounded more bored than she did before.

"To the point I see. There is going to be a dynastic change within the next twenty-four hours. But before I go on, I want to know, what do you know about the Maiden in the Moon?" the figure asked.

"Some old bedtime story about some mage, a shadowcaster I think, that tried to destroy the sun or something ludicrous like that. Got blasted to the moon for her troubles. What about it?" Nightshade asked un-amused.

"Well the story is true and my mistress, the Maiden in the Moon herself, is looking for skilled elementalists for an elite flying corp for the..." the man was cut short.

"I kill you if you say 'entertain the masses'."

"You will try… and fail, but I'd have to give you an A for the effort. However, what I was saying, to keep the masses in line." The shadowy figure said knowing better what both he and Nightshade are capable of than the elementalist.

"So like the MP? As tempting an offer, I got to wonder why me? I don't know if you are aware, but I am not known to be the best team player." Nightshade commented knowing her past actions.

"You are currently the best elementalist and flyer in all Mystica and actually a great commander. If the Wonderbolts cannot see that, then well at least six of them deserved to die..."

"And that janitor. Don't forget the janitor." Nightshade pointed out as most people only focus on the Wonderbolts she killed. "Everyone forgets the janitor."

"Regardless, you are the first Wonderbolt Ace in over 900 years and have successfully killed more people than the entire ESM have in the last 880 years. My mistress needs people willing and able to... well you get the idea."

"And if I don't join?" Nightshade asked, wanting to know all the facts she can.

"Well murderers cannot be tolerated and you being Mystica's only real criminal, your public execution would send a stronger message to others that would attempt similar actions than continuing your current life imprisonment."

"So, let me get this straight, I can either wait out the storm and beheaded if you guys win, or I could join you guys and remind Spitfire why I was her mentor..." Nightshade paused. "Tough choice," she said supersaturated with sarcasm.

"Well, when..." the shadow-man said as he started to slip into the shadows.

"Oh, for the love of...! I was being sarcastic! I am in, you daft twit!"

The shadow-man smiled as he opened the cell just by touching it and conjured a new bow and flight suit, "I will see you on the outside." The man then vanished into the shadows.

Nightshade quickly got out of her prisoner suit and into the flight suit the man left, it's a perfect fit. She then picked up the bow, it felt like meeting an... yes it was her old bow, but it clearly has been upgraded significantly since Nightshade has held it. "Well old girl, you've seen better days than me. How about we have some pleasure before we get down to business?" Nightshade said as her fingertips and the bow start to glow a black-like purple. "GUARDS!" she cried like a frightened woman as if someone was trying to kill or rape her. A smile crept as she heard the guards' footsteps coming towards her.