Chapter 11
MLP: FiM
Flying Sky-High
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 11:
Soarin’s eyes squeaked open as the sunlight poked through the window above his bed. He groaned and yawned as he covered his eyes, swearing quietly as he realized he forgot to close the shade last night. Despite being blinded, he felt more rested than he had in months. Dash never left his side during the night, so his body was never forced awake. He thought about getting up to close the window, but why would he risk waking Rainbow Dash? She was sleeping so peacefully, stirring slightly every few seconds. If he moved, the sunlight would beat right down on her face. He decided to just deal with the light and continue to shield her from it.
He smiled as he watched her sleep, gently reaching forward to stroke part of her mane that fell over her eyes. She sighed at his soft touch, smiling in her sleep. Her arms and ears were twitching lightly as she lay curled up. Soarin wasn’t sure how much more cute he could take before his heart exploded. Suddenly her leg twitched hard and kicked out, striking him right between the back legs.
“HRRRRGH!!!!” Soarin grunted loudly while reaching down, body completely stiff. Dash slowly woke, roused by his grunt and blinked while yawning a very high pitched yawn. She turned to look happily at Soarin, but he was blue(er) in the face, hooves stuffed between his hind legs, and a quiet, high pitched screech was escaping his mouth.
“Soarin?” She lifted an eyebrow. He slowly rolled over and fell off the bed with a thump. “What’s gotten into you?” She giggled as she peered over the bed. Soarin was rocking back and forth on the ground.
“YOU KICKED ME IN YOUR SLEEP.” His voice was high pitched and full of excruciating pain.
“Wha?” Dash didn’t understand a word of it. Soarin inhaled sharply and tried again.
“YOU KICKED ME IN YOUR SLEEP.” His voice cracked multiple times as he forced the words out again. Dash’s eyes widened as she put two and two together and realized why he was clutching his lower regions. She tried to hold it in, but failed miserably. She burst out laughing and rolled onto her back, kicking her hooves into the air. “WHY ARE YOU AMUSED BY MY SUFFERING?”
“Sorry about that,” She rolled back over and rested her chin on her hooves while peering at him over the edge of the bed. “I twitch sometimes when I sleep.” She continued to giggle.
“Hoooooo. Haaaaaaaaa.” Soarin finally rolled onto his stomach and shakily got to his hooves. “Well,” his voice was returning to normal, “you’ve got real good aim.” He said with a few deep breaths.
“Hey it’s getting cold and lonely on the bed,” she pouted down towards him, “sorry about your stallionhood, but get your ass back up here.” She smirked and rolled back into the center of the bed.
“The things I do for love.” Soarin joked as he slowly pulled himself back onto the bed. He flopped on his back, and Dash quickly rolled on top of him. “Urf! Careful! Still sensitive!”
“Aw relax and enjoy me.” She said as she nestled her head into his chest.
“Yes ma’am.” He complied and wrapped his arms around her back. Dash sighed contently and stared into his eyes as he stared back into hers. She made a quick glance at the clock.
“Wow 6:30? We called it early last night.” She went right back to his eyes.
“Mess hall doesn’t open until seven. Guess we have more private time.” He winked.
“Careful, I don’t want you to get sick of me.” She winked right back.
“Call me when hell freezes over.”
“Oo you’re good.” Dash giggled. “So what should we do?”
“I’m feeling just fine right here.” He squeezed her tighter to him.
“Then what are you waiting for?” She leaned in to kiss him. But he grinned, slid his hooves over to her wings and pressed below the wing joint.
“AAAHH!!” Her wings flared out and she blushed hard. “Soarin!”
“What?” He asked while looking away comically.
“Don’t ‘what’ me buster!” She reached down and started brushing her hooves against his sides.
“Oo! AHHAHAHAHA!” He started laughing and bouncing around with her still on top of him. While laughing hysterically he pressed really hard down on the Dash’s sensitive wing spot.
“EEEEEEE! AH!” Dash pushed herself up hard and Soarin rolled sideways. They flew off each other and landed on the floor on opposite sides of the bed. They both started laughing and slowly peered over the top of the bed towards one another. “Don’t get me going Soarin! I never lose!” She jeered.
“Then the game is ahoof!” Soarin grabbed a nearby pillow and tossed it at her. She ducked under and sprung up over the bed, flinging herself towards him. “Oh god!” Soarin yelled as Dash pounced and pinned him to the floor.
“I. NEVER. LOSE.” She jeered with a smirk while pressing her nose to his. She had her hind legs pressed against his arms. He tried to move them slightly, but she had him pinned pretty well. “You aren’t the ONLY strong one here lover colt. She proudly flexed her arms. Soarin lifted an eyebrow.
“Oh really? I’ll try harder then.”
“Bring it! WHOA!” Dash yelped as Soarin slowly pushed her upward. “Not fair! Not fair!” Dash flailed as she tried to balance on his arms. He pushed his wings to the floor too, raising them higher as Dash lost her balance and fell into his body. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and sat up straight with his prisoner.
“Deal with it.” He taunted as she squirmed. She huffed and stared into his eyes with fake grumpiness.
“I guess I’ll let you win this time,” she said before looking at him seductively, “so what do you do when you catch your prey?”
“I like to eat their face first.” He said before quickly putting a hoof behind her head and pushing her face towards his. She anticipated his move and kissed him first. They both moaned in satisfaction as Soarin slowly tipped backwards until he was again flat on his back. “Oof!” Soarin broke the kiss briefly. “Right back where I started.”
“Who said stop kissing me?” Dash didn’t let him answer and went right back in. After several minutes of lip sucking, friendly wrestling, and all around “fun on the floor,” Dash rolled off of him and lay beside him. “Y’know, this probably would have been more comfortable on the bed.” She chuckled.
“You’re the one that pinned me to the floor.” He poked her in the side, making her squeak and cover up the spot. He sat up straight and looked at the clock. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.” Dash sat up too and saw the clock read 7:05. Time sure flew when she had a sexy stallion to spend it with.
“I’m not too excited for the mess hall food, but gotta put fuel in the tank.” She shrugged. “Let’s go.”
They both got to their hooves and headed for the door, but not without a few pokes and tickles at each other while they still had the privacy.
“I’m not gonna lie, this is one of the least appealing breakfasts I’ve ever seen.” Dash frowned at the plate of underdone scrambled eggs and watery oatmeal. Soarin shrugged as he swallowed a spoonful of said oatmeal beside her.
“This is why I usually go to Rusty’s.” He poked her in the stomach. “But trust me, if you want a stronger body, you better get used to a healthier diet.”
“I suppose.” She sighed and began choking down the eggs. She already adjusted to a rigorous heavy work schedule, she'd just have to do the same with her diet.
They were two of five ponies in the mess hall. It seemed most weren’t very eager for breakfast. But while the food wasn’t perfect, at least they got it fresh from the kitchen.
“So I haven’t been asking because I obviously don’t want you to, but when were you planning on heading back to Ponyville?” Soarin asked reluctantly. Dash hadn’t actually thought about that at all. She was having way too much fun with Soarin and the Wonderbolts, but she couldn’t stay forever.
“I guess I should head back today.” Her ears hung down as reality set in. “My friends might start worrying about me if I’m gone any longer, plus Cloud Kicker is probably pissed about me skipping out on weather team stuff.” Dash chuckled, “but it’s all been worth it.” She said while nuzzling him in the neck softly. Soarin frowned.
“I really don’t want you to go Dash.” He draped a wing over her. “These few days went by way too fast. I’m more than confident now that I need you in my life. Period.”
“Aw, you’re sweet. And sappy. But mostly sweet.” Dash cocked a grin while removing herself from his neck and continuing eating.
“I would shrivel up without your smarm, that’s for sure.” He joked and went back to his food as well. They continued to eat in silence. Both of them were focusing on what they could do in the little bit of time they had left before parting ways. “Oh!” Soarin suddenly realized something as they both finished. Dash glanced over to him as he smiled.
“That look on your face tells me you have an idea I’ll like,” she said and waited for something good. He nodded as they picked up their trays.
“I just remembered. The lead squad has off today!” He almost hovered as he said it. “I’ve been so focused on you I completely forgot!”
“Do you now? So what did you have in mind?” She happily asked as they handed their empty trays to the wash racks.
“First, how is your body feeling?” His question surprised her. She realized that her body wasn’t as achy as she thought she would be, in fact it was almost not achy at all.
“Now that you mention it, I’m not that sore, I thought I would be.” She looked herself over. Soarin puffed his chest out and beat a hoof to it once.
“My massage did wonders, eh?” He chuckled.
“I guess it really did,” she nudged him, “And I won’t forget it.” She winked.
“You still may feel a bit tight tomorrow, but since you feel alright now, I was thinking we could fly back to Ponyville together!” He suggested. Dash’s eyes widened. It was a long flight from Canterlot to Ponyville, at least if they took it nice and slow.
“But then you’re gonna fly right back? That’s a long way.” Dash wondered out loud.
“That’s just it,” he nodded, “tomorrow I have nothing until the afternoon. I can spend the night with you at home and then catch a train back to Canterlot in the morning!” He finished with a wide smile. Dash bounced giddily up and down as his plan came together.
"AWESOME!” She squealed and hugged him. “So looks like I get one more night with you?” She quickly tapped him on the shoulder and bounced her eyebrows.
“You know it!” Soarin returned the gesture. “Oh, don’t forget your dress. It’s still in my room.”
“Oh yeah, almost forgot about it, let’s grab it and be on our way then.” Dash grinned happily. She would get more time with Soarin after all. Any time with Soarin was time well spent and greatly desired.
Then suddenly, they both jumped as a loud blaring noise echoed throughout the compound. Dash’s wings flared out and she glanced around frantically,
“What the hell?! What’s that?” She stared wide eyed at Soarin. He glared straight up at a siren, up in the corner of the ceiling playing loudly with a small red strobe light flashing. It was producing incredibly loud claxons, and Soarin knew exactly what it meant.
“That’s the emergency alarm! And there were no drills scheduled for today!” He blinked and quickly hooked Dash’s arm. “Stay with me!” He yanked her along. Still flustered, she found her hooves and followed close behind him as they ran through the hallways. Security guards were scrambling and other Wonderbolts were taking positions all about the compound.
What the hell was going on? Soarin said it wasn’t a drill? Dash had no clue, but as long as she stuck by Soarin, she would feel safe. But she still wanted to know what was going on, and why an alarm decided to suddenly almost make her throw up her whole breakfast.
Dash followed close behind Soarin as they sprinted up the stairs and made a beeline right for Spitfire’s office. Soarin ripped the door open and looked in, but Spitfire wasn’t even there.
“Soarin! There!” Dash pointed to the stairs they came from. Spitfire had come up from the stairs as well and galloped over to them.
“Soarin!” She yelled to him as he and Dash turned to her.
“Spitfire what’s going on?!” Soarin quickly questioned. Spitfire shook her head.
“I don’t know! I was just downstairs doing a morning inventory check!”
“None of security has reported to you? Did one of them trip on an alarm switch or something!?” Soarin questioned loudly, barely able to hear Spitfire over the claxons.
“Last time I checked I didn’t hire dumbasses for security guards!” She butted heads with him before looked around quickly. Dash suddenly perked up. She had a thought. The thought scared her.
“Rapidfire!” Dash suddenly yelled as she thrust her wings out. Both Soarin and Spitfire glanced at her. It couldn’t be him. They had him locked up in his room with maximum security surrounding it! But what if Dash was right?
“GO!” Spitfire yelled, pointing at the stairs. Soarin quickly turned and fired through the air towards the stairs to the third floor. Spitfire followed close behind, and after a brief hesitation, Dash did the same. She tried to keep up, noticing Soarin and Spitfire had ways to quickly make their way through the base. The two bounced off the steps and were kicking off the walls at angles to navigate the stairwell in seconds. Dash finally got to the top and turned the corner. Soarin and Spitfire were heading down the hall on the right. She noticed an alarm lever outside Rapidfire’s room pulled down.
Dash gave chase and gasped as one of the Wonderbolt security guards came flying out of Rapidfire’s room and struck the opposite wall roughly. Soarin and Spitfire screeched to a halt as they saw it happen and Dash caught up. Spitfire landed to check the guard. Soarin grunted and turned to look in the room. His eyes widened. Dash sped up and slammed down to the floor, skidding and drifting so she stopped besides Soarin. She too was caught off guard by the sight.
Six security guards lay beaten and out cold, sprawled about the room. In the back corner, Rapidfire had Fleetfoot hoisted up on the wall, his hoof pressed to her neck. She struggled and kicked, but she couldn’t get free.
“RAPIDFIRE! PUT. HER. DOWN!” Soarin shouted at the top of his lungs, startling Dash. She was trying to comprehend everything she was looking at. There was no way Rapidfire could take down six ponies and Fleetfoot all at the same time! What the hell was going on?!
“HRK, GRRRRHHH” Fleetfoot gasped and flailed, but couldn’t do anything.
“Heh… heh…hehahaha…” Rapidfire suddenly chuckled in a very menacing, very disturbing way. He turned his head and looked at them all without letting go of Fleetfoot. Dash took a step back. Rapidfire’s eyes were glowing pink. Was she dreaming? Was this a nightmare?
“I WONT SAY IT AGAIN! PUT. HER. DOWN!” Soarin repeated, spreading his wings and flaring his nostrils. Rapidfire sneered.
“Or what? What will you do? SCOLD me again?” His words were slow and sinister. “You’ll talk to me about rules? About conduct? To hell with all of it!!!!” He suddenly gripped Fleetfoot and flung her by the neck towards them. Soarin reacted quickly, hopping up and catching her. She coughed violently and pressed her hooves to her neck, trying to get more air.
“You okay?” Soarin quickly asked as he set her on her hooves.
“Gah! Yeah, I’m fine.” She shook her head and took her place at the ready beside her wingmates. Rapidfire wouldn’t stop softly laughing.
“I’m done with this. All this stupid training, all these stupid rules and restrictions, and all these stupid ‘teammates!’ From now on I do things my own way!” A small pink crystal hovered up beside his head.
“Wait… THAT’S—!” Soarin blurted out. He recognized it. It looked like a smaller version of the pink crystal that created the tornado in Ponyville. And the ones who were using it back then were…
“HAHAHAHAHA!!!!” Rapidfire cackled as the crystal unleashed a blinding light. They all shielded their eyes with their wings as the light surrounded Rapidfire. First the glow was as intense as the sun, but as it went on, it condensed and wrapped itself around Rapidfire’s limbs and torso. They slowly all lowered their wings. This time, not just Soarin, but all of them were struck by disbelief.
Rapidfire stood before them, wearing a spandex uniform that was similar to the Wonderbolts, but it was black and purple with yellow lightning bolt like stitches. He also donned a pair of angled yellow flight goggles.
“Shadowbolt…” Dash managed to say quietly despite most of the air having already left her lungs. Soarin, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot were speechless.
“Oh GOD this feels good! It feels AMAZING!” Rapidfire sneered as little pink electrical volts crackled and popped around him. “YES!” He thrust his wings out and sphere of pink light exploded from his body, blowing all of them back and partly crushing the walls and floor of the room. All the mares were blown off their hooves, but Soarin managed to hold his ground. He spread his wings again and set his hooves, ready to charge. “HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!” Rapidfire laughed insanely. A pink glow surrounded him. The pink light shone right through his goggles. He turned, not even looking at Soarin, pulled back and fired himself right at the armored window shutter, splitting the metal like it was tissue paper, and rocketing out into Canterlot.
“No way!” Soarin blinked as if he’d only imagined it.
“What in the blazes is going on over here?!” Fire Streak ran up from around the corner as Dash, Fleetfoot and Spitfire got to their hooves. Spitfire instantly gave orders.
“Fire, rally all the squads. Make sure everypony and everything in the compound is accounted for before dispatching into the city! Also, contact the royal guard! Tell them that it is crisis priority and that a pegasus imbued with some sort of evil magic is on the loose in the city! We’re going in pursuit! GO!” She pointed. Fire only gave a salute and headed back down the hallway.
Soarin executed his Sonic Blast-off and produced an incredibly powerful explosion of wind through the hallways. He fired out the hole Rapidfire had punctured in the window shutter. Spitfire readied to follow.
“Fleetfoot, we’ll need a Silver Arrow maneuver!” She said to her.
“Got it!” Fleetfoot flew out the hole and directly up into the sky. Spitfire just glanced at Dash and made a hoof motion to the floor, which Dash presumed meant “stay here,” before she took off after Soarin.
Dash blinked, her brain trying to process everything at once. She shook her head out and smacked her hooves against it. Spitfire said stay put? Like HELL! Something related to the Shadowbolts was every bit of her business just as much as it was there’s. She extended her wings, galloped into the room, and took off after them.
Soarin narrowed his eyes as he locked on to Rapidfire’s glowing form ahead of him. Despite having used his Sonic Blast-off, Soarin was having a hard time catching up. Rapidfire was never this fast. Whatever was controlling him was pushing his body past its limits. Rapidfire dove low into the city and began weaving in and out of the buildings. Soarin would not be outrun, and followed low to the ground. He twisted, turned, and swerved to avoid every obstacle that Rapidfire seemed to pass right through. Soarin glanced up to see Spitfire screaming in a straight line overhead. She dove as Rapidfire tried to pull out of the buildings, but he twisted the instant before she could strike him. She did a quick flip and aimed herself back up, Soarin flying in beside her.
“Fleet is going to use the Silver Arrow!” Spitfire quickly relayed to Soarin. He looked up behind him, then back towards Rapidfire.
“Can she hit him if he’s moving so erratically?” Soarin wondered out loud.
“I’m not gonna place any bets on that, but if we can get him to slow down or stop, she’ll have a much better chance!”
That was all Soarin needed to hear. He broke off from his tight formation with Spitfire as she continued to give chase. He tapped against a nearby building and performed the steps to blast off again. He shot off the building as if it launched him out of a cannon. Rapidfire did not look as Soarin approached.
The pink aura still surrounded him and the energy continued to crackle and pop about his limbs and body. Soarin could see little pulses of energy lifting from Rapidfire’s body that made him flinch every time it did. It was almost as if Rapidfire was having trouble containing whatever power was given to him by the crystal. Right before Soarin could reach him, Rapidfire dipped down and headed towards a busy road.
“HEHAHAHEHEHEHAAAA!!!!” He continued to laugh uncontrollably as the glow around him seemed to intensify.
“NO!” Soarin yelled out and pumped his wings as hard as he could. They were in the middle of the Canterlot high class region. Multiple unicorns were staring up as Rapidfire descended towards them. He thrust his arms out and waves of pink energy jettisoned from them, crashing into windows and buildings, knocking over unicorns, sending some of them into walls. Mass panic ensued in the streets as a few royal guards that were stationed in the area took flight and charged at him. Four came at Rapidfire from in front, behind, left, and right. As they closed in Rapidfire touched down, balled his front hooves together above him and pounded them against the ground. Pink blasts of energy erupted from the road, striking each royal guard in the gut and flinging them in every direction.
“YOU CAN’T STOP ME!” Rapidfire taunted, slightly foaming at the mouth. “NOTHING CAN STOP ME!” Then Soarin came screaming in from the side and tackled him.
“I’ll be the judge of THAT!” Soarin picked up speed and thrust Rapidfire forward smashing him into a solid brick wall. They hit the wall so hard that it crumbled and collapsed. Soarin backed off and panted as he surveyed the wrecked wall of the building. Rapidfire stood up quickly from the debris, pink glow still alight, as if he hadn’t felt a thing. “What the hell!?” Soarin edged backwards.
“Thanks for the love tap, but you know I’ve always hated you more than ANYTHING!” Rapidfire pushed his front hooves out, Soarin shielded himself as a heavy wave of energy crashed against him and sent him flipping backwards into the sky. Rapidfire exploded upward, through all four floors of the building Soarin had pushed him into, and exploded out of the roof. Soarin leveled himself and grunted in frustration as Spitfire seared past him overhead. Something wasn’t right about this. The Shadowbolts he fought in Ponyville did not have any energy based powers like this. If they did they didn’t use them. More importantly, how the hell did Rapidfire get a hold of something that was used by Shadowbolts? Had something slipped right beneath their noses? There was much more to this than he currently knew and he wasn’t going to let Rapidfire get away on top of it. He gave chase, determined to subdue him.
“Gotcha!” Spitfire shouted as she reached out and grabbed Rapidfire’s leg. She thrust her wings out, doing everything she could for wind resistance. Soarin caught up as she slowed him down and circled around. Rapidfire stopped trying to pull Spitfire along and gave her a sudden kick to the face, knocking her off. He sneered as she clutched her face in pain, but Soarin came flying in, pulled back, and struck him hard square in the jaw.
“Argh!” Soarin grunted. It felt like he had just punched a sheet of steel. He ignored the pain though, because the punch had spun Rapidfire around. Soarin put him in a full nelson and held him as tightly as he could. Spitfire shook her head out and glanced up into the sky. A small spec in the distance seemed to be approaching at an incredible speed. She glanced at Rapidfire as he continuously tried to smash the back of his head into Soarin’s face, but Soarin kept stretching his neck left and right to avoid. Finally she looked down and saw they were high over a large flat plaza. Perfect.
“Soarin!” She yelled and pointed skyward. Soarin glanced up as he avoided another head to the face. He picked up the spec in the sky.
“Roger!” He yelled and continued to hold Rapidfire. It was a constant struggle. The crystal had considerably increased Rapidfire’s strength. Soarin had him in a position where he had a leverage advantage and he still could barely keep Rapidfire steady.
Spitfire made some hoof signals into the sky and the spec grew larger and larger until it became recognizable. It was Fleetfoot and she was streaking through the sky at a speed that had already broken not one, but two sonic booms. The lead squad “Silver Streak” was shooting down from the sky like an arrow from the heavens. Pushing her record breaking maximum speed to the limit, Fleetfoot broke through a third aircone, and moved so fast through the air she nearly disappeared from the untrained eye. Soarin kept a firm view on her and waited as long as he could before letting go and shooting towards the ground below. Rapidfire turned to chase him, but Fleetfoot was right on target.
With the force of uncountable tons, Fleetfoot’s hooves collided with Rapidfire’s face. The power behind the collision shocked and resonated through his body, despite being protected by the pink light. His yellow flight goggles shattered to pieces and his neck lurched roughly, his whole body following. He was propelled to the ground by the blow, a good portion of Fleetfoot’s insane momentum transferring to and striking him down. He smashed to the concrete with a solid, painful crash. She angled up and thrust her wings out to slow down, but she wouldn’t slow down enough before hitting the ground hard herself. It was exactly why Soarin had dropped. He caught Fleetfoot with a grunt and together they managed to safely stop.
Rapidfire lay in a heap in the center of the plaza. Spitfire landed beside Soarin and Fleetfoot on the outer edge of the plaza, and the three slowly advanced towards him. Soarin glanced overhead to see a small group of eight royal guards arrive on the scene and circled the area.
Rapidfire’s body began to crackle and pop again as the three drew near, stopping them in their tracks. Rapidfire twitched and stirred, groaning first, and then turning it into a low growl as the energy spasms around him intensified. Soarin instinctively set his hooves firmly on the ground and extended his large wings out to shield both Spitfire and Fleetfoot as an intense pulse fired out from Rapidfire’s body. Soarin braced himself as the energy floored him, making his hooves skid a few feet back, and pulling mares with him. The royal guards above got blown slightly upward, but held strong against the wave.
“GRRHH HRRAAAAHHH!!!!” Rapidfire slowly and shakily stood up, faltering more than once as he did.
“Are you kidding me?!” Fleetfoot shouted as she peered over Soarin’s wing, “I was going at LEAST mach three! How is he still up?!”
“He’s up, but I don’t think he’s okay.” Spitfire commented as Rapidfire continued to grunt loudly. Small streams of pink steam started to rise off his body as he struggled to keep his hooves. The royal guards above recklessly charged him.
“Wait!” Soarin called out to them, but it was too late. The first one to reach Rapidfire received a punch to the side of the face that completely bent his helmet inward and was sent flying through a store window at the edge of the plaza. The other guards hesitated as they saw their fellow guard get turned into a missile, but quickly turned back and charged all at once. Rapidfire grabbed two of them by the necks and slammed their faces together before swinging them around and knocking two other guards out with them. The three remaining pulled back to evaluate the situation.
“Just stay back!” Spitfire yelled up to them. They were clearly not trained to handle this sort of abnormal combat. The remaining guards and the three Wonderbolts all winced in surprise as Rapidfire cried out in pain and fell back down. The pink steam trails rising from his body had grown larger. He began to gag and cough, followed by him vomiting all over the ground in front of him.
“This is really creeping me out.” Fleetfoot took a step back and shook her head.
“What the—?!” Soarin looked up as something suddenly streaked through the sky above them leaving a yellow trail that contained a zigzag pattern in its wake. It shot towards the remaining royal guards and swiftly crashed into all three of them, sending them spiraling to painful crashes to the ground below. It swept around and angled towards the Wonderbolts. Soarin readied take off and meet whatever or whoever this was head on, but it suddenly fired a wave of energy at them. The wave flew at them much faster than anything Rapidfire had manifested. To surprise them even further, the wave split into three smaller waves, and each wave turned into what looked like a spherical net. The nets collided with each one of them, trapping them inside.
“I… can’t move!” Spitfire yelled out as she struggled to move her limbs to no avail. Soarin and Fleetfoot struggled and tugged as well, but the energy nets did not give at all. Then a another pegasus slammed roughly to the ground between them and Rapidfire. Soarin took a good look.
It was another Shadowbolt. Soarin wasn’t surprised, after his last encounter with them, he knew there was no way they wouldn’t have some sort of sneak attack waiting. But what struck him about this particular Shadowbolt, was that it had turquoise fur sticking out in the Shadowbolt uniform openings, and a familiar slicked back mane that had a repeating pattern of two different shades of orange. The finishing touch? It was a mare.
It was the mare that had harassed him at the ball, and the mare who Rapidfire had been seen with in the Wonderbolt compound recently. There was a slight pink glow coming from behind her goggles, suggesting she was controlling the nets with the same energy that was powering Rapidfire.
“YOU!” Soarin belted towards her. “What did you do to him?!” He demanded. The mare just scoffed.
“Relax handsome, I only gave him what he wanted.” She shrugged, turned her back to Soarin, and approached Rapidfire, making sure not to step on his vomit as she did. “Feh, careless amateur.” She shook her head. “You absorbed all of the damn energy at once didn’t you? Right after I specifically said not to? I hope this teaches you a lesson in restraint. That’s of course assuming this doesn’t kill you.
“Hrggghhh…” Rapidfire grunted quietly, the steam still rising from his body.
“The shit I put up with.” She shook her head, “I’ll give you five minutes to get the power under control before I leave your ass behind.”
She suddenly perked up and glanced left. Something was screaming towards her quickly. Rainbow Dash came in low and thrust her hoof at the mare’s face, the mare stepped backward and into flight quickly, avoiding three wildly thrown punches by Dash. Dash used the momentum of her last punch to spin herself around and kick at the mare’s face. The mare had to block the kick with her arms, she had no other choice. As Dash connected the kick, the mare’s eyes lost their glow and the nets surrounding the Wonderbolts faded. The mare pushed Dash off and circled around, retaking her spot near Rapidfire as Dash landed beside the freed Wonderbolts.
“I told you to stay put!” Spitfire scolded Dash.
“You’re welcome.” Dash rolled her eyes and stood close to Soarin. Dash quickly recognized the color patterns of the mare as well: the mystery pegasus mare from the ball. Again she found herself wondering. Why did this mare seem so familiar? The Shadowbolt uniform didn’t help.
“Well isn’t this just a lovely reunion we have going here?” The mare chuckled.
That voice. Dash’s ears shot up. She knew that voice, that sly, overconfident voice. The mare reached for her face and pushed up the angled goggles, revealing a pair of red iris eyes. She followed it up with a familiar nasty smirk.
“Been a long time, eh Rainbow Dash?”
“Lightning Dust?!”
---To be Continued---
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Whoo! First commentor! First off, I would like to say: AWESOME CHAPTER! Loved it! Next; SoarinDash is my favorite shipping, and I think it's amazing that you're writing about them! Gun on!
4234136
Thank you
I'm glad you're enjoying it 
Lightning Dust! That reckless mare! I knew it!
Edit: Team Dash will win! Losing is not an outcome! :D
Big time battle. I sense big trouble, and great destruction.
Seems like SOMEONE brooded over their humiliation for a good long time.
The question is, was LD a member of the Shadowbolts all along or did she join them to help her exact revenge. I am betting on the latter. She was pushy, aggressive, and careless before; the amped up viciousness appears to be a newly added feature. 
4234151 Oh, no problem!
Damn that was 0-60 in .2 seconds. Great chapter bro, u do not disappoint. Cant wait to see if and when those 2 get a beat down they deserve. I wonder how celestia's doing during all this, though I have a few theories. Keep the chapters coming and keep up the great work. You have me loving every word.
4235410
I hope it wasn't TOO fast. One problem i always have when i look back to Head in the Clouds, is that the action was completely out of nowhere and unexpected.
I tried to build up to it more in this one, dropping hints here and there that something was amiss.
But thank you for your support, i've been having so much fun writing this and will be sad when it's over.
No need to worry calm. The pace was fine. I was just noting how it went from a quiet morning to oh crap what happened. I didnt have any issues with it, it was a great chapter
and yeah. I dont really want the story to end either. My only hope is that it ends happily.
4235924
Then it worked out well
Thanks again
Hoh lordy. This is a big one. I knew it was gonna be Lightning Dust, though. What other pony looks and acts like her?
What the Shizzle!?!?!!??!!
Ahem...
CALLED IT!!!
But a Shadowbolt? That shows how far she's fallen. Well, only one solution... break their fucking necks.
Ooh looks like we need something.... Badass
[youtube=OGPD0ZBiMs0]
4236974
haha break out the Sabbath, the Slipknot, and the pinkie pie
It's gonna be a brawl
4236694
Your reaction is EXACTLY what i was looking for.
I wanted it to be clear it was Lightning Dust throughout, but i was hoping no one expected what she had become or why she kept seeing Rapidfire 
In fact someone else commented wondering if Rapidfire and Lightning Dust would work together to try and ruin Soarin and Dash's relationship. When i saw that i tapped my fingers together and mumbled "Exxxxcellent" To myself, because i just LOVE building cliches before breaking them in half
4236055
i was hoping people had already figured it out
So i'd keep the readers wondering what is she gonna do? When is she gonna pounce? How and why? 
4237446 Well, your plan worked on me, that's for sure.
4237841
These cuteness dials go up to 9001
......I KNEW IT! I knew it! JFJSLAGDJXKSKSHDJDOAHFKDSLKDNSJEIEFFJDLWHDKWIE
OSKDJSJDHSKAKDJXJFHD O KNIW IR WAH HERRERRRRRRRRR?!!!!!! KDNDNQNKCNCNXSJKSDJDHFHFJJDEOEKD
AHAHAHHAHAJAJAJAHAAHAHAHHSHSHAHAHSHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!
4237986
oh yeah by the way, there's your twist
4237994 jzjsjxnabxxzkkalMjNkxgskaldnndhxhskwjfjndnjhksdnjd
spodosol awesomeness!!!!!!!!! SjdhxkKzxhJjzhJsskskxbxbsjspspdjdiwlzv! V .).$£?! AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAGAGAGAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!!
THX XBXIU AOOOOOOO MUCHHHHH!!!! JUskajzmznzjNBzbzbznakKz
4237910 nope..... 9000.1
4237986
4237998
4238000
You are the craziest commentator I've ever had and i love it!
Haha i tried to sound out everything you just wrote in my head and it sounded like a 56k modem making love to a fax machine while a meta-max machine played dubstep in the background.
(i have a silly brain
)
4238015 so what if I'm crazy......does it matter?
Seriously gurl/dude/ma'am /sir/....thing.....
That's what u get with a girl who loves dubstep and spamming
4238379
i would be a sir
and i suppose i'll allow it because it's hilarious 
1. Yeah i guessed lightning earlier :p
2. You know dash has a black belt in karate right?
4238485 ok then my good SIR!!!!!
Lol jk
Anyways....I agree with the dude above....if Dashie throws poor punches, then why in the freakin heck is she black belt in karate
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES !
Lightning Dust is in the place !
Well, I don't really like it when she's in the villain role, it's too common and predictable, but this time it doesn't bother me :P
Awesome chapter in short, I love how the development went : fluffy at first, badassitude in the end.
4238516
4238526
i actually had forgotten that
but what i'm going for here is that she's not quite as refined as the Wonderbolts who have organized aerial flight combat training.
but dont worry, she's still gonna kick some ass
4238545
i actually agree that she's used a bit too often in the villain role. But she fit the mold perfectly for my idea, i needed a familiar character that had a negative role in the past to bring forth an unforseen scenario. She was the only pony i could think of for it
4238829
Well, I'm glad you did, she's one of my favorite character, I think I can cope wither her villain role ;)
Just caught up with the last chapter! Can't wait for the next!
Ugh, I want to keep reading, but it's 5:04 so I can't.
O my G.O.S.H......
WHO THE HECKING HECK WINS !!!!!! .
I KNEW IT
IKNEWIT!
Ever since the ball!
So much for Soarin and Dashie getting more couple's time in Ponyville.
No matter, I mostly like action scenes a little more anyway. 
It's amazing to see people "calling it" when from the beginning it was pretty f*****g obvious who that mare was.
And, wow, did Rapidfire escalate quickly, I almost wish I could see him in his room as he goes from "asshole" to "psychopath", but I guess that's just my own morbid curiosity...
I WILL GIVE YOU A FUCKING COOKIE AS LONG AS YOU DON'T DO MEAN THINGS TO LIGHTNING DUST.
I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FUCK YEAH! SHIT IS GETTING REAL
please you need to teach me your ways.
O crap this is not going to be good.
Lightning Dust is a Shadowbolt!?!?!?
I knew it was Lightning Dust but I didn't expect her to be a freakin' Shadowbolt!
I have decided that the Shadowbolts will be given to Discord to with as he pleases for their punishment.
Lightning Dust is a shadowbolt?
I knew it was a shadowbolt but not Lightning Dust.
huh...
I say again, Where the F!@# is TEX when you need her!!!
I fookin knew it!!! I knew it was Lightning Dust. I however didn't know that she was a shadowbolt. Hmm something smells fishy here.