Everfree

by Dusk Quill

Chapter 2: Foreboding

It was substantially cooler beneath the shady treetops of the Everfree Forest. Sunlight filtered down through tiny pockets in the endless blanket of dense leaves overhead, filling the groves and twisting paths with beams of shimmering golden sunlight. The first dozen meters or so was so idyllic, Fleethoof found it hard to believe that anypony was afraid of such a place.

However, once the search party got past the scenery the shade began to grown into darkness. With every few passing minutes, Fleethoof could detect the changes in ambient light. He had to strain his eyes a little more to see details, and though he could still see fine, it was certainly a night and day difference from being outside the forest. Now, hours into the search, he began to notice even more little nuances. Birds sang somewhere off in the distance, but the Everfree Forest itself was eerily still. Save for the snapping and crunch of leaves and twigs underhoof, the woods were dead silent.

The Guards, both Solar and Lunar, walked cautiously onward. Each step was deliberate, and they took great care making their way over roots and other obstacles. Fleethoof and Midnight took it like a stroll in the park. Anything they came across, they merely bypassed with ease and indifference. Caution was not a word presently in their vocabulary.

Fleethoof glanced back at the mare following closely behind him. Since they had left Ponyville, she had stuck close by his side. Not that he was surprised. He had expected as much, and had already mentally accepted it without protest. Now, walking blindly through the dimly lit forest, looking all around for any signs of activity or clues, all they had was time.

“How have you been, Midnight?” he asked, jumping over a large root and carrying on like he had skipped a puddle on a rainy day. “Been keeping out of trouble, I hope.”

A laugh came from Midnight. With a flutter of her leathery wings, she joined him on the other side of the root. “Oh, you know me, Fleety. When have I ever been able to behave?”

“Fleethoof,” he said. He was starting to get irked at how she abused her privilege of the first name basis. Again, he shouldn’t have been surprised. “I’m actually surprised you haven’t been kicked out of the Nightwatch yet.”

“Hey! I’m playing nice, so you have to as well.”

“Okay. You stole my picture.”

Midnight hesitated in her response. “…Yeah? So?”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t bring my camera with me to Canterlot,” she answered in earnest. The pair of ponies ducked beneath a fallen tree, crawling through a dirt ditch beneath the trunk. “I like taking pictures of my friends, and I didn’t know when I’d get my next chance to see you again.”

Midnight’s answer was so… normal. It threw Fleethoof through a loop. “Fair enough…”

There was a lull in the conversation. The ponies followed a short distance away from the rest of Ghost Team, scouring the ground for anything even resembling a clue. Sounds from the creatures that inhabited the forest echoed softly from somewhere around them. While he had to admit the whole place felt a little unusual, Fleethoof didn’t see any valid reason for the horrific myths and ghost stories. The Everfree Forest was just that: a forest. Nothing more, nothing less.

“So how have you been, big guy? Canterlot still treating you good?”

“Can’t complain.” Fleethoof brushed a few leaves off his jacket as he pushed through a bush. “We got a new building for my team.”

Midnight pressed to keep the conversation going. “Oh yeah? How is it?”

“It’s nice.”

Fleethoof was still as succinct as ever, she noted. Still, she was determined to play catch up and keep him talking. “I bet it is! A whole place just for you. Wish I had something like that.”

“Don’t be sour. We need it, you know that.”

“Still can’t tell me why though?”

He shook his head resolutely. “Nope, sorry.”

They could hear the calls of a few ponies off in another clearing. They were checking something out. Maybe they had found a clue. Fleethoof began to push his way through the dense foliage, leaning against a pile of logs for balance.

“I think they found something, Midnight.”

“Hey, Fleety.”

Fleethoof growled under his breath and turned around in a flash. “What did I tell you about—”

“Smile!”

It took Fleethoof a moment to recognize the camera in the mare’s hooves. Where had she been keeping it? Before he could say, do, or even think anything, Midnight pressed the shutter. A blinding flash caught the surprised pegasus in the eyes. He yelled out and fell back against the logs, thankful that somepony had left them stacked so neatly in the middle of the woods.

“Celestia dammit, Midnight! What was—?”

“Hey, you’re the one who said I should get a more recent photo of you,” she said with a wide, triumphant smile on her happy face. “And now I have my camera on me, so I did!”

“I didn’t tell you to blind me in the middle of the woods!” Fleethoof stumbled over something on the ground. He couldn’t even tell what it was with the large black spots still obscuring his vision. He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to clear them up as quickly as possible.

“Aww, come on. It wasn’t that bad.” Fleethoof just grumbled in response. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. My bad.”

“I’ll say…”

Midnight shrugged and helped the stallion back up. “Look, if it makes you feel any better, I—”

Something shifted beside the ponies. It caused the earth beneath their hooves to quiver gently. Whatever it was, it was big, and had a lot of weight behind it. What is that? thought Fleethoof, looking around for the source of the seismic shifts.

That was when he noticed the pile of logs that had once been his saving grace begin to slide away from them. Fleethoof and Midnight watched in bewilderment and awe as the large chunks of wood began to realign into a shape amongst the trees, rising high above the two ponies. A deep, rumbling growl came from the creature, and then it slowly turned on the ponies.

Glowing green eyes glared with feral hunger at them. Fleethoof didn’t believe in the horror stories of the Everfree Forest. But he did believe in the creatures that lived there. He recognized a Timberwolf when he saw one. It must have been asleep when Midnight’s camera went off. The Timberwolf growled again, its foul, putrid breath washing over the ponies as it crouched low, preparing to pounce.

“Run,” Fleethoof said in a low whisper, and took off in a blur towards the group in the clearing. Midnight was hot on his tail, and behind them, the threatening growl had turned into a full-fledged snarl of bloodlust. The Timberwolf was giving chase, darting lithely through the thicket of trees. Even in the dimmed light, its glowing eyes were like something out of a nightmare, ever persistent and never getting further away, no matter how hard Fleethoof pushed his legs off the ground.

With a flap of his wings, he was airborne, avoiding the roots, rocks, and bushes as he propelled himself through the air and around trees. He could hear the flaps of Midnight’s wings as she followed close beside him. Both ponies were breathing hard as adrenaline pushed their bodies forward, just barely keeping them ahead of the ravenous mouth of the predator in full pursuit.

They broke into the clearing at breakneck speeds, coming down for a hard landing beside the group of ponies. Everypony looked up in alarm when the two ponies came crashing down to the earth, kicking up a cloud of dirt and dust in their wake.

“Timberwolf!” Fleethoof shouted, using the momentum of his fall to pivot and turn just as the large lumbering lupine broke the tree line and emerged in the sunlit clearing.

The ponies recoiled in terror as the Timberwolf let loose an ear-splitting howl. From the darkness of the forest, two more sets of eyes lit up between the trees as a couple more Timberwolves entered the fray, circling around the group of pony soldiers now forming a tight circle in the clearing. Midnight clenched her teeth in fear as she eyes the surrounding predators. The rest of the Lunar Guard and Royal Guard had their weapons raised, waiting and watching.

Fleethoof’s hoof rested on the grip of his rifle at his side. He locked gazes with one of the wolves, feeling his heart racing. The creature made a sound crossed between a hiss and a snarl. His hoof tightened around his gun. He saw the pony beside him shift uneasily, dropping his guard for even just a split second.

The Timberwolf reacted, and made a lunge forward. Fleethoof had his gun up in a flash and put several bullets into the creature’s face. The bullets peppered the wood and deflected harmlessly. The Timberwolf yelped and retreated back to circling the perimeter of the clearing, but was otherwise unharmed.

“Open fire!” somepony shouted, and the entire clearing was filled with the sound of furious combat. Bullets flew in every direction as the ponies shot aimlessly at any part of the wolves they could hit. Time and time again, each round did naught to harm the creatures of the Everfree.

The wolves attacked, diving for the ponies nearest them. Fleethoof found himself in the crosshairs of one such attack, and barely had time to dive out of the way. The large pair of jaws snapped down on the ground where he had been standing just moments before. He hit his side hard and rolled to his back, shooting from his position on the ground.

The group of ponies had all dove out across the clearing. Now that they had been scattered, the wolves snapped blindly at any pony that happened to be near them. Midnight rolled to her hooves and took a few shots at a Timberwolf chasing Echo and Eclipse. Her rounds hit low on the wolf’s leg, making it yelp and stumble, giving her teammates some breathing room.

She heard a growl and saw a wolf on her peripheral vision. It was coming right at her. Flapping her wings as hard as she could, Midnight Dasher took to the air like a shot moments before the wolf took a chunk out of the earth she had been standing on. Turning in the air, she opened fire on any wolf she could draw a bead on. Echo flew up beside her, aiding Midnight in her target shooting. They winced as a few bullets snapped past their heads from wide shots.

“Check your fire! Don't clip the airbornes!” the Guard leader shouted out amidst the combat.

Fleethoof cried out as he cartwheeled out of the way of another would-be life-ending bite. He was breathing hard while reloading his empty weapon. None of his shots had been good for anything. All the wolves now sported some devastating looking injuries to the bark of their wooden skin, but none of them had been harming to the creatures themselves. They were getting nowhere.

The wolf withdrew again and turned on the pegasus. Fleethoof licked his lips, eyeing the creature cautiously. He heard a snarl to his side, and turned to see a Timberwolf leaping at him. With no time to react gracefully, Fleethoof threw himself across the ground, feeling the earth shake as the wolf’s jaws collided with the dirt and grass. He looked to his side. The wolf still had its fangs sunken into the ground—mere inches from where he had landed.

He grunted as he delivered a swift kick as hard as he could into the Timberwolf’s snout. It felt like bucking a tree. The wolf yelped and recoiled only slightly, recovering quickly and snarling at the downed stallion. Fleethoof took careful aim with the few precious seconds he had left. The wolf lunged at him, and he squeezed the trigger.

The round found purchase in the creature’s right eye. The Timberwolf howled in pain and reared up before collapsing to the ground. Wasting no time, Fleethoof sprung up and fired two more bullets into the wolf’s other eye. The predator whined and gave a spasm on the ground before it lay still. The green glow dimmed and faded from its eyes, and then its wooden body crumpled into a disjointed pile of logs.

“The eyes!” Fleethoof said to the scrambling soldiers. “Aim for the eyes!”

Midnight and Echo heard Fleethoof’s shout and immediately changed tactics on a dime. Spotting Starlight and Nocturne literally holding a Timberwolf’s jaws open to keep from crushing another Royal Guard, the fillies dove down like a bolt of lightning. They landed on the furious wolf’s head. It looked up at the bat ponies just as they brought their guns down to its eye sockets. A spray of bullets later, Midnight was being thrown from the writhing Timberwolf as it too disintegrated into nothing more than lumber. Echo took back to the air, aiding her friends from above.

The last Timberwolf snorted, pawing at the ground like a bull as it charged at the ponies. Everypony dove out of the way as it barreled like a train through the clearing, nearly trampling a few of the Guard. The beast turned and made another pass again, snapping at a couple of the bat ponies in the air. This time, they were ready. As it ran by, the ponies on the ground went for the legs, and with a few well-placed shots, the Timberwolf yelped and fell face-first into the ground. It skidded to a halt in front of a pair of Royal Guards, who ended it with a short barrage of gunfire.

Fleethoof picked himself up and dusted off his jacket and fur. Nopony had been killed, and most had gotten away with a few cuts or scrapes. Without any major injuries, he considered it a decisive victory. Breathing a sigh of relief, he lowered his gun and rejoined the rallying troopers.

“Where did they come from?” a pony asked, his voice still shaking.

“The Everfree Forest is a dangerous place,” another one said.

“It doesn’t matter where they came from. Nopony got hurt. That’s what’s important,” said Fleethoof. A couple ponies nodded assent. “Did we at least find anything yet?”

“Yeah. We found a body.”

A body? Fleethoof felt his heart plummet into his stomach. Was it one of the missing foals? Swallowing back a lump in his throat, he and the rest of the ponies followed the ones who had made the discovery to a far side of the clearing. There, half hidden by the bushes it had either collapsed or been pushed into, lay the body of a Royal Guard.

It was a grim sight, even by Fleethoof’s standards. The soldier’s armor had all but been torn asunder, the metalwork scratched and bent at odd angles, clearly with a lot of force. His face and body were bruised and bloody from deep cuts. His jaw and neck looked like they had been broken, and his throat had been gouged out in a gristly mess. The pony’s eyes stared off into space, a final look of dread and gut-wrenching terror frozen in them for all time. Oddly enough, no blood had soaked into the nearby grass or ground.

“He’s one of the ones who got lost earlier,” a Royal Guard noted with some surprise.

“What could have done such a thing?” Echo asked, her voice weak with horror. Behind her, somepony began retching.

Daybreak asked, “Was it one of the Timberwolves?”

Fleethoof shook his head. “Timberwolves kill to eat. If it had been one of them we wouldn’t be finding the body.”

“But what would kill a pony just to kill?” Midnight’s question was one that was presently disturbing Fleethoof. He felt sickened by the thought of what that poor pony endured in his final hour. Whatever it was, it was definitely one of the most gruesome aftermaths Fleethoof had ever seen.

Starlight shook his head, fighting back the bile rising in his throat. “We need to be getting back. It’ll be time for the next team to go in, and we don’t wanna be out here when the sun goes down.”

The ponies began to slowly move away as two carefully lifted the body of their friend. Fleethoof watched as they carried him through the clearing, only following once he was sure there was nothing else to find here. He turned to follow the group back out, lingering as he stared out into the forest. Had he just heard a foal’s laughter on the breeze? Stillness greeted his searching gaze. His brow furrowing in distress, Fleethoof moved to catch back up with the group.

Although he couldn’t place his hoof on it, he felt like something was watching him from the forest.

“That’s it! We can’t risk sending any more ponies into that forest!” one of the detectives in charge of the investigation cried out. “With Cloud Breaker’s body, that makes six Guard ponies killed, and four still missing! Something is telling us to stay out.”

“We can’t just abandon those foals!” another pony said. “If they were kidnapped, it may be the culprit trying to scare us away from getting any closer.”

Fleethoof rolled his eyes as he leaned back against one of the supports keeping the tent held upright. The debates had been going on like this since they had returned to Ponyville. The Guard seemed to be divided in two: those who wanted to pull out, and those who wanted to keep pressing forward. He had to admit, both sides had valid cases. It didn’t make sense to keep sending ponies on a wild goose chase to possibly meet their deaths. But on the other hoof, the group of terrorized Ponyvillians that seemed to mob the camp every other hour wouldn’t just let them walk away with their hooves washed of this.

The first detective that had spoken cast a sideways glance at Fleethoof. “You’re one hundred percent sure it wasn’t an animal attack, Captain?”

“Positive.”

The detective scowled and muttered a curse beneath his breath. The ponies around the tent were all the leaders of teams involved in the investigation. None of them seemed to have a plausible solution. The rescue effort was cleaved in twain.

“I’m not sending my ponies back in that cursed forest if they’re just going to be killed,” the Hoofington leader said firmly. He punctuated his sentence with a shake of his head. “We came to help you find a bunch of foals, not throw our lives away.”

“We could be getting closer though!” The Ponyville detective seemed the most reluctant to lose hope—and for good reason.

“We could also be getting further away. We haven’t even found any traces that the foals are even still alive.”

“We’re not giving up the searches,” Starlight spoke. “As long as my team is here, we’ll keep looking day and night.”

“As will we.” The Canterlot leader threw his support in with the Nightwatch.

Fleethoof sighed and felt his spirits fall. Looked like his hopes for a quick in-and-out was coming to an end. Starlight looked over at him.

“You’ll stay and help too, won’t you, Captain Fleethoof?”

He shrugged. He didn’t have any say in the matter. “I’m here as long as you are. I’ll do what I can.”

The Hoofington detective laughed. “You ponies are all mad. That forest is evil!”

“That forest is nothing more than a bunch of trees and wild animals,” replied Fleethoof sternly. He was getting very tired of the superstitious nonsense very fast.

“Hey, if you want to go back in there, be my guest. It’s your funeral.”

“And it’s your job.” Fleethoof turned a cold glare on the chicken-hearted detective. “Maybe if you took two steps outside this tent and gave a shit, then we might be making some more progress.”

“What did you just say to me?”

The two stallions turned on one another, each taking a challenging step towards the other. He had no patience for deserters, especially in a time of crisis. He had met ponies like the detective before—the kind that like to flash their shiny badges and act tough, but cower out when the job gets tough. Starlight stepped in to keep the ponies apart with his hooves.

“Whoa, whoa! Easy, colts.” He looked between the two. “Let’s try to keep it civil. We can keep looking. Whatever the detective decides to do… well, that’s his call.”

Fleethoof bit his tongue to keep from letting himself lash out. He exchanged a bitter look with the pony from Hoofington and nodded to Starlight. He turned briskly on his hooves and walked out of the tent without another word.

The sun had begun to go down over Equestria. Another day had come and gone fruitlessly. What did that make now? Twenty-three days since the first of the foals had gone missing? Twenty-four? It was grossly unacceptable by his standards for the Guard. They were just foals, and there was nopony alive besides the princesses who could navigate the Everfree Forest successfully! By all rational logic, they had to still be in there.

Midnight Dasher looked up from the conversation going around the table when Fleethoof approached the loitering bat ponies. She smiled, but dropped it quickly when she saw the grimace on his face. Undeterred by his evidently sour mood, Midnight tapped the back of the empty chair beside her, flashing him a wide attempt at an alluring smile. Much to the mare’s delight, he circled around the group and came to rest sitting in the chair, slouching against the table.

“What’s going on in there?” Daybreak asked Fleethoof as he took a seat with the group.

“They’re debating whether to call off the searches or not,” grumbled a very unhappy Fleethoof.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Ooooh yeah.” Fleethoof reclined back in his seat, staring blankly up at the sky as it transitioned from bright blue to warm orange.

“But we just got here!” Eclipse said. Her whining voice was so high pitched it almost hurt his ears.

“Yeah,” said Echo in agreement, pounding her hooves against the table. “They could at least give us a chance! Just because they’re ready to give up doesn’t mean we are!”

“Nopony’s giving up,” Fleethoof said sharply. “Even if the Hoofington ponies pull back, we’re staying and getting the job done. Starlight isn’t budging from that.”

That seemed to settle the anxious bat ponies a little. Fleethoof had to admire the bold audacity of the ponies of the Shades. When they were given a job, they really saw it through to the end.

“I hope those foals are all right,” Midnight said after a moment, her voice so soft and caring that it surprised Fleethoof.

He gave her a small smile, and looked out at the border of the Everfree Forest. “We’ll find them, Midnight.”

Midnight gave a soft sigh and leaned her head against Fleethoof’s shoulder. With her chair pulled up close, she snuggled up to the stallion. He cast a quick glance at her with an amused smirk.

“Comfy?”

She gave a quiet murmur in response, letting her eyes slowly close. “You’re comfy, and your jacket is soft. I like it. How come you’re so casual and out of uniform?”

“I didn’t see a need to bring it,” Fleethoof said. “I’m off duty as far as I’m concerned. This is charity work. Besides, it still gets chilly at night, especially so out there, I’d wager. A jacket seemed more practical.”

“So Fleethoof, how long have you and Midnight been going out?”

Eclipse’s question caught Fleethoof so off guard, he didn’t respond right away. All he could do was stare dumbfounded at the filly, shell-shocked from her bluntness. Beside him, he heard Midnight’s hooves scraping against the ground as she struggled to right herself again.

“Wha—? We’re not going out,” Fleethoof said, very quick to correct her. “W-Where did you get that idea?”

Eclipse looked thoroughly confused now. “Oh, I just thought you were, since Midnight said something about you two sleeping together and stuff.”

Fleethoof felt his jaw hit the ground. So many questions ran through his mind in an instant, but none made it to his mouth. He had lost all control of his tongue, and speech evaded him. All he could do was stare at the blushing, flustered Midnight beside him. She looked as shocked as he felt.

“Eclipse! I never said we were sleeping together!” she snapped, feeling the blood pooling beneath her cheeks and her ears burning like they were on fire.

“What are you talking about? You said you were in his bedroom a bunch of times when you were in Canterlot!”

“I said I broke in! That does not mean we’re sleeping together!”

“Well what’s the difference?!”

Fleethoof’s gaze didn’t turn from Midnight. “What does she mean ‘a bunch of times’?”

Midnight Dasher’s eyes hastily darted between Fleethoof and Eclipse, smiling sheepishly at one while leering at the other. Echo was giggling to herself, and Daybreak just shook his head.

“Why do you always have to destroy such good friendships like that, Eclipse?” Daybreak asked, still shaking his head disparagingly.

Eclipse flicked her long, pale blue mane over her shoulder, batting her eyelashes innocently. “Who, me? I’d never do anything like that!”

“I am never telling you anything again, ever,” Midnight growled out, baring her fanged teeth at the snickering mare seated across from her. She turned back to the still staring pegasus next to her, smiling as sweetly as she could. “I’m sorry about her. She’s a little incorrigible.”

“We really need to stop hanging out,” Fleethoof said.

Midnight feigned a heartbroken look as she reeled back from Fleethoof. A hoof clutched over her chest dramatically, acting like he had stabbed her right in the heart. She made a scene of groaning in pain before flopping limply over the table. Fleethoof sighed and rolled his eyes. She was hopeless.

“So what is your relation to Middy then, Cap'n?” Blackjack asked smoothly, giving a jesting smirk to Midnight. “Have you been keeping an eye on our lil sis up in Canterlot, or vice versa?”

A furious blush overtook Midnight's cheeks as she shot a look at him. “Blaaack, come oooon, cut it out!”

Fleethoof was actually enjoying turning the tables on the teasing bat pony. “Well, she's been a wily one, that's for sure. She likes making fun of our guards and beating them up.”

A loud, booming laugh came from deep within Blackjack. “That sounds like our Middy! Although seeing her turn this red isn't something I can say I'm used to.”

“Knock it off...” grumbled Midnight, burying her face in her hooves to hide away.

“Not a chance.” Blackjack turned his gaze on Fleethoof next, his smirk dropping a little. “She hasn't been getting into too much trouble, has she? I hope you've been keeping an eye on her.”

“Both eyes, as often as I could spare them.”

“And you haven't taken her out yet because...?”

“Black!” Midnight's head snapped up sharply, her ears folded against her skull and her entire face a shade darker.

The bat stallion merely shrugged. “I'm just saying, it's pretty obvious to me and Eclipse—”

“Okay! That's enough! No more talking about what did or did not happen back in Canterlot!”

“Why Middy, I've never seen so get so flustered.” Blackjack chuckled softly at the disparaging look she gave him.

Fleethoof couldn't help but laugh as well. “I've never known anypony rile her up like that.”

Starlight emerged from the tent a few minutes later and made his way over to the ponies. He looked as pleasant as Fleethoof had when he walked out.

“All right, Ghosts, listen up,” he said as he got closer to the group. Everypony looked up at the team leader while he spoke. “Once the sun sets and the other teams get back in for the night, we’re gonna do a night run through the forest. We can’t afford to lose any more time in finding those foals.”

“What about the other ponies?” Blackjack asked. “The ones from Hoofington?”

“They’re staying, for the time being. For how long, we’ll see—but right now, we just stay focused on tonight. We’ll be in our element, so this should be a walk in the park for us. Nevertheless, keep your guard up and be careful. We don’t wanna run into more Timberwolves out there with no backup.”

“So none of the Royal Guard is coming in with us?” Eclipse let out an airy, mocking laugh. “What foals! Are they scared of the dark or something?”

Daybreak grinned, flashing his sharp teeth. “With us in the dark, maybe they should be!”

“The Canterlot Guard is actually going to do a once-over around the edge of the forest to see if they missed anything while we look deeper in. They wanted to keep pressing further—hell, their CO was all raring to go, but with night coming, they're gonna have to wait till dawn before they storm the castle, so to speak. So we've got the first run.”

Fleethoof raised his hoof suddenly. “How deep are we going in, and how are we getting there?”

“Back around where we were today, so fairly far in. Make sure you have plenty of supplies and spare tools,” said Starlight, pausing for a moment. “Can you manage all right in the dark, Fleethoof? I was gonna suggest just flying there, but we can walk if that’s better for you.”

“I can do just fine in the dark. And if I may make a suggestion”—Fleethoof grinned broadly—“I have a better idea to get us back out there a hell of a lot faster.”

Starlight nodded, and the table had turned all ears toward him. “If you have a faster way than flying, be my guest. What do you need?”

Fleethoof just continued to grin his knowing grin. “A radio.”

Comments

[Jake The Army Guy]

Very nice. Great job keeping the tone while still havin light moments.

Save for the snapping and crunch of leaves and twigs underfoot

UnderHOOF, I think you mean. :p

“

The Canterlot Guard is actually going to do a once-over around the edge of the forest to see if they missed anything while we look deeper in.”

If I may, I think it'd be a nifty thing to throw in that they WANTED to come, but Starlight said no because they'd be too blind in the dark. The way t sounds the Hoofington guards are the pussys, so it'd be cool to show the stark difference. If it sounds like I'm harping on this equality thing, I guess I am a bit. Saying Starlight had to damn near pull rank to sideline the Canterlot ponies would make them seem more like badasses.

[FenrisianBrony]

I still want Midnight to join Skyfall at the end of this.
Great chapter though.

[Dusk Quill]

3052894
I've gone ahead and copied your review for reference, but if you guys could do me a HUGE favor and not comment on the unreleased chapters here, I'd really be appreciative. It's starting to look a little sloppy with all the deleted/spoilered comments. Just send them to me in a private message so I don't have to make a mess of the comments section. Cheers.

[Spriggs272]

I feel the helichopper coming out to play!!!

But the usual, excellent writing and alright chess skills ;)

[Silverstein]

The world of Skyfall gets mixed in with the Story of the Blanks! Everfree's got both so you know its good.

I am delighted to see the return of Midnight Dasher.

Silver out!

[MariusIoannesP]

“So Fleethoof, how long have you and Midnight been going out?”

The bat stallion merely shrugged. “I'm just saying, it's pretty obvious to me and Eclipse—”

Again, somepony assumes Midnight and Fleethoof are going out. It seems you're really pushing for them to get together. But there's still the whole thing with Cadance although it's looking likely as per canon she will be ending up with Shining Armor. It's going to be interesting seeing this transition.

You know what I've just realized. Midnight is a lot like Pinkie Pie. Well, except that she's a lot more focused and kind of sultry. But pulling a camera out of nowhere, that's a Pinkie Pie move right there. I wonder if her cutie mark is black and dark-colored balloons.

[AppleTank]

Oh, right. No vehicles yet.

[Hawattie]

Had he just hear a foal’s laughter on the breeze?

should be "heard"

Its interesting seeing Fleethoof inserted into a different group after two stories of his interactions with Skyfall.

[Sylthsaber]

SLENDERPONY!!!!!!!!!
-yes this again
-no im not gonna stop

[Novak]

*Inserts flight of the valkries next chapter* here comes the Black Hawks!