Chapter 116: Lunar Eclipse
MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 116: Lunar Eclipse
The door creaked as Fire Streak pushed it open and peered into the back corridor of the fortress. He quickly stifled a sneeze as a blast of dust hit him in the face.
“Dear me,” he commented as he pulled back and wrinkled his nose. “Either they never use this hallway or they seriously need to rethink cleaning duties…” he turned back and beckoned them in as he pushed the door open and the whole group followed.
There was no sign of any Shadowbolts, so each of them took a moment to look around and take in the surroundings. To Dash though, it looked all too familiar, at least by design… and she didn’t like it.
The hallway, while lit only by dim hanging lights, and covered in cobwebs, immediately brought back memories of when she and Soarin were being held within. It looked like the Wonderbolt compound, had it not been painted or had any ceiling tiles, exposing all the pipes and electrical wires.
“The hell is with all this dust?” Playbitz asked as he covered his mouth with his wing.
“Looks like nopony has walked in here for years,” Shine Struck added as the dust nearly overwhelmed their senses.
With a few steady wing beats, Fire and Misty managed to blow a lot of the dust near them away. Fire Streak peered down the hall, spotting the door likely leading into the main lobby of the fortress just as it did in their compound.
“My best guess,” he began as he started walking and the others followed. “Is that they never use it. Think about it, they always seem to be on the attack, why use a back door if you’re always facing your targets head on?”
“That makes sense I guess…” Shine Struck scratched her head as the group closed in on the opposite door.
“Good guess by us then, eh bro?” Lightning Streak chuckled. “Free to walk right in!”
“Stay focused, we can’t rely on lucky breaks…” Fire reminded the team as they stopped in front of the opposite door. He reached up and pressed a tiny switch on the side of his goggles, activating the X-ray effect Rivet added to them. It only lasted a few seconds before switching off. “Blast it…” he cursed as he pressed the switch back and forth until the lenses reactivated. “Looks like these things are going to be finicky… the tech doesn’t like the smaller goggles,” he spoke to himself before turning around. “Swift Justice, Rainbow Dash, and…” he turned and made a pointing gesture to Misty Fly before putting his hoof in front of his face and swiping it down. “Up front,” he said for Dash and Swift. “We’ll handle any confrontations, but our top priority is to avoid all confrontation. Swift, I need you to hide in every shadow you can find ahead of us and keep a lookout, especially around corners. Dash, you’ll be up with me for the sole purpose of recognizing anything that might help us find Wave. And Misty of course, will do her thing to help alert us of anypony nearby,” he finished while relaying the plan to Misty, who nodded.
“Sweet! Front row!” Swift smiled as he took a step, only to be lightly nudged by Shine.
“Be serious, dummy…” she said sternly as Playbitz hovered behind as if preemptively ready to separate them. Swift stepped up beside Fire and Misty Fly, but Dash did not.
“Miss Dash?” Fire turned to look at her. Dash quickly shook her head out.
“Sorry… bad memories of this place,” she said with a subtle shiver. Fire pushed his goggles up and looked her over carefully, but he quickly stopped when she shot him a flat expression in response. “No, Captain, it’s not going to keep me from doing my part.”
“Whah-pish…” Lightning quietly imitated the noise of a whip cracking behind Fire. Fire rolled his eyes at his brother before putting on a brief grin.
“Very well, come on up… anything you may recognize will help,” Fire reiterated as Dash stepped up beside Swift Justice.
“Hey, check this out…” Swift nudged Dash before stepping to the left and into a shadow. His body slowly and completely blended into the dark corner next to the door. The goggles lifted up and vanished followed by a smile appearing as if floating in the dark.
“That’s just freaky,” Dash winced as she heard Shine groan behind them.
“But quite useful in the right places,” Fire commented, looking over Dash’s shoulder as he tapped a hoof against the goggles again. He used the X-ray function to look at the immediate area beyond the door… and when there was no sign of anypony he nodded and reached for the door. “Here we go…” he said quietly as the group gathered up and moved in.
Fire pulled on the door, but it didn’t budge. He furrowed his brow, giving it a harder yank. The door creaked and opened, bits and flakes of the door frame sprinkling to the ground. The rough motion made a little bit of noise, causing them all to flinch, but luckily, nopony was nearby to hear it. The door, like the rest of the back hallway, was definitely barely used.
Fire made a head motion to Misty. Misty closed her eyes for a moment, her wing feathers twitching before giving Fire a quick nod.
“Swift,” Fire pointed to the open door. Swift ducked and slipped through, slinking his body around the door and disappearing.
“Coast is clear,” he said quietly a moment later.
“Let’s move,” Fire ordered, the group quickly making their way through the door. As Dash stepped through she looked up… and saw something familiar.
They were in the back corner of the main lobby. This was the last part of the fortress she and Soarin flew through during their escape. She recognized the shape and structure, but it had one major difference. Large crystals… everywhere. The walls, the floor, the ceiling… there was no direction she could look without seeing some sort of crystal formation jutting out of the walls, floor, or ceiling. There was a dim pink glow emitting from them, but it looked weak, drained. It was probably due to the cannon firing. The drain of their power was a boon to the group, creating a dimmer environment to make use of Swift’s abilities.
“Look familiar?” Fire asked Dash. Dash kept looking around and bit her lower lip.
“Yes…” she said before pausing a moment. “Soarin and I came through here, but I’m trying to remember from which hallway…” she trailed off as she examined the lobby. Fire did as well, taking note that while the shape of the lobby was near identical to the Wonderbolt compound, the similarities ended there.
“I don’t blame you,” Fire commented. “The hallways are arranged differently.”
The hallways were not single large corridors to the left and right like the Wonderbolt compound. While a stairwell was in the same place near the center in the back, there were four hallways leading out of the lobby. Two on the right, two on the left. There was also a balcony mezzanine level midway between the floor and the ceiling that had hallway leading out left and right.
“They have a lobby balcony?” Surprise asked as she poked her head forward. “WAYYYY cooler than our lobby!”
“Focus please, Surprise,” Fire hushed her before looking at all the possible exits. “Any thoughts, Miss Dash?”
“The only thing I remember…” she turned and pointed to the right. “Soarin and I flew from that direction before we broke down the doors leading outside.”
“Then we’ll go that way,” Fire decided with a nod. He flinched as Misty Fly suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder. He turned and looked at her as she pointed to the left hallway up on the balcony. Fire’s eyes widened and he glanced around, pointing towards a crystal jutting out of the floor beneath the balcony. “Everypony, behind the crystal!” he ordered frantically, but hushed.
They all moved as quickly and quietly as they could, shuffling behind the crystal. Dash peered out around it, watching as three Shadowbolts flew out from the balcony level and pitched towards the window above the lobby doors. They used their crystal magic to open the window and shot out towards the battle outside, before the window closed behind them.
Dash blinked as they stepped back out, glancing at Misty Fly. She seriously sensed those Shadowbolts coming? It took them at least ten seconds from when she alerted Fire before the Shadowbolts appeared and flew out, flying very fast. She remembered when she fought Nightshade beside Misty, and she used her ‘blind fighting’ technique… but she had no idea it was so fine tuned. Seriously, those Shadowbolts were definitely not close at all.
Dash eyes widened as she threw a hoof over her chest.
“Rgh…” she grunted quietly as she felt her heart beat speed up for a moment.
“Everything alright?” Shine asked as they all emerged from behind the crystal. Dash turned and flashed a discouraged look.
“Definitely not…” she said honestly as Fire glanced back at her. Dash took a deep breath and put her hoof back down. She could feel her heart beating, but they were small shocks, nothing powerful enough to conclude something was horribly wrong with Soarin… wherever he was. She looked up, catching Fire’s eyes again. She looked at him sternly, silently reminding him that she was fine and would tough it out… which he seemed to pick up on because he didn’t say anything to her.
Fire tapped Misty on the shoulder. She closed her eyes for a moment, opening them up and shaking her head.
“Coast is clear,” Fire pointed at the hallways on the right. “Let’s go.”
The group made their way across the lobby, weaving in and out of the crystals. Fire only had to remind them once to walk loosely and not in any sort of orderly fashion. They hadn’t had to resort to acting like the Shadowbolts yet. If they were lucky, they wouldn’t have to.
When they reached the right side of the lobby, they glanced between the two hallways. Both were about half the size of the hallways in the Wonderbolt compound, and from where they stood, they looked like they went to different parts of the fortress.
“Surprise?” Fire Streak looked back as Surprise bounced forward. Fire gave her a flat look, with a slight grin. “First, try to hold back on the bouncing, second… we need you here, what do your instincts tell you?”
The detachments from Foxtrot and Zero watched curiously as Surprise walked up and stood in the space between the halls.
“Hmmm…” the front part of her mane suddenly reverted to its original poofy state. The front tip of her mane pointed forward and began to jiggle. It started making a quiet puttering noise as it slowly pointed towards the door on the left, but then stopped. “HMMMMM…” she hummed, the piece of her mane suddenly edged towards the right door before straightening out, and pointing at the right door while making a DOING noise. “This way!”
“That way it is, everypony back in positions, let’s go…” he trailed off as he saw the rest looking at squad three quizzically. Fire chuckled. “Surprise has a knack for making guesses with a ninety percent success rate,” he explained.
It was Surprise, there was no need to search for an explanation. They simply accepted it and moved along.
The hallway had several turns and rooms in many different places. It was also a lot dimmer, but again that probably had to do with the power reserves being drained. Dash, walking side by side with Fire as Misty and Swift worked point, kept looking around while trying to recognize the area. It all looked familiar… but there were no specifics. When she and Soarin escaped, they had rushed through the halls, taking every corner they could to escape their pursuers before luckily emerging in the lobby… and consequently ended up outside surrounded. Right now, unless they hit the few hallways she had seen before they were forced to run, she wouldn’t be able to give an honest assessment.
She assumed they would be keeping Wave Chill in the detention block, which was at the end of a hallway and down a flight of stairs. Aside from that hallway, they were only taken up the same stairwell and to Nightshade’s room… she just needed something to help her get her bearings.
They quickened their pace from a quiet trot to a canter, remembering that the current mood amongst the Shadowbolts was probably urgent with the battle going on outside… especially with their fortress grounded. They remained in the clear for a while, proving that indeed most of the Shadowbolts had to be outside.
But then they neared a corner and Swift and Misty both stopped.
“Uh oh…” Swift appeared from the dim corner of the hallway. He peered around the side, looking back at Fire as Misty also tapped Fire on the shoulder. Everypony came to a halt as Fire looked around and nodded.
“We have no way to avoid this one… quickly! Dash, Shine, take your squads back several paces and make it look like you're running forward. Swift, disappear. Squad, get ready to react.”
Dash and Shine had turned and motioned to Squall, Twister, and Playbitz before Fire had even finished. Swift ducked into the nearest shadow. Fire waited for Misty to give him a nod before he took a step forward, but then…
As a Shadowbolt mare turned the corner and screeched to a halt to avoid hitting Fire, a Shadowbolt stallion ran into her plot and the two lurched forward.
“HEY!” the mare pushed the stallion off of her and growled at him. “Keep it between the legs, pervert! We gotta get outside!”
“It’s not my fault you stopped, if I didn’t know better I’d say you wanted it!” the stallion reacted.
The two continued to bicker, and as they did, Fire saw an opportunity. He whipped his tail backwards, batting Lightning in the face with it. Lightning scrunched his face for a moment, but then blinked. He turned and made a subtle hoof motion for Shine and Dash to keep moving.
“HEY!” Fire yelled at the two Shadowbolts, who both sharply looked at him. “You can bang later! Get out of our way!” he yelled at them as Misty glared and growled at them as well. Dash and Shine filed in right behind them, stopping and looking over squad three, feigning curiosity at what was holding them up.
“Ugh!” the mare grunted, shoving the stallion away and walking between Fire and Misty. She made a sharp head fake at Fire as she passed, causing Fire to flinch slightly. But before she could scoff at him, Misty Fly turned and throttled the mare with the left hook right to the cheek. The mare was thrown against the wall. Squad three managed to hold in a reaction, but Shine and Dash’s groups all flinched and backed away.
The mare grunted and stumbled to her hooves, glaring at Misty, but Misty walked right up to her and pushed her back against the wall. The mare looked at Misty hesitantly, and as soon as Misty saw it, she grabbed her and shoved her along, Dash and Shine moving aside as the mare stumbled towards them and shook her head.
“Sheesh!” the mare grumbled as the stallion made his way through them as well.
“You got your ass kicked,” he chuckled as they broke into a canter towards the lobby.
“SHUT UP!”
Once the two had disappeared from sight, Fire breathed a heavy sigh of relief, giving Misty a slightly frustrated look. Misty only smiled brightly and contently in response.
“Yikes, bro…” Lightning chuckled. “If I were you, I’d stay on your lady’s good side.
“Alright, alright…” Fire rolled his eyes, glancing back at Shine and Dash. “I’m sure none of you saw that coming, but showing a little hesitance after Misty… gave that mare her opinion… helped you blend in.” He smirked. “Honestly, I’ve had my doubts from the start… but after that little quarrel and how nothing really came from Misty’s…” He glanced at her again. She was still smiling and now swaying back and forth. “Greeting… It looks like it really will work.”
“Ow…” a groan came from near the wall. Everypony looked to see Swift appear from the shadow and stumble for a moment. Upon closer inspection, it was the wall the mare was thrown into by Misty’s punch.
“Oh jeez,” Playbitz chuckled as he stepped over to him and supported him. “Did you get plot to the face?” he asked as Shine Struck also walked up to check on him.
“Yes…” Swift shook his head out. “And it was glorious…”
“Pfff…” Shine Struck scoffed. “He’s fine, come on, let’s go…”
“All set?” Fire asked as he peeked around the hallway, seeing they were in the clear. “Let’s go.”
They turned the corner and kept moving. As Dash tried to recognize anything she could, her eyes briefly landed on Squall. She shifted over and trotted beside him.
“How are you holding up?” she asked. He blinked and raised an eyebrow at her.
“I haven’t had to do anything yet,” he replied flatly, almost sounding like he was bored.
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Dash chuckled as she kept her eyes peeled.
“Hmph…” Squall huffed. “I’d rather be out there fighting… sneaking around isn’t my thing.” He flinched as Twister’s head popped up over Dash’s back and he bounced his eyebrows.
“That’s what’cha get for being sexy and having a scar!” he joked, he swiped his hooves in front of his face, his face turning into an imitation of Little Star’s face when they first saw his scar.
“Really?” Squall scowled at him. “You’re gonna do this shit now? Just because we’re on a mission, doesn’t mean I won’t punch you,” he threatened.
“I DARE you to punch this face,” Twister said, his face still shaped like Little Star’s. Squall completely flattened his expression, but didn’t say or do anything else.
“Twister,” Dash sighed. “You already get punched in the face more than anypony I’ve ever seen, sooner or later they’re gonna get tired of trying.”
“Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…” Twister’s face reverted and he slowly... slipped off Dash’s back… over the course of twenty seconds. Dash sighed, not even moving to stop his antics.
“Just stay focused Twister, I know you do it in your own way… so keep doing it please,” she asked nicely.
“Yes ma’am!” he said happily, now on the other side of Squall, making him flinch and grumble.
“Ah! Captain!” Dash suddenly called forward. Surprise popped up in front of her and held her hoof to her mouth.
“SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” she hushed while slowly towering over Dash. Twister tried to join in the hushing, but Surprise slapped a piece of duct tape over his mouth that had ‘bad pony, no biscuit’ written on it. Twister began to flail while trying to pull the tape off.
“Alright, alright…” Fire calmly made his way past Surprise and Twister to address Dash. “What is it?”
Dash blinked before pointing towards an approaching door, third on the right.
“This is a little bit of a shot in the dark… but—” She looked towards Fire— “I think that was the door Soarin and I emerged from before we were chased… if I’m right, it will be a stairwell going down.”
“Let’s check it out,” Fire nodded moving along with Swift and Misty up front. But as they approached, when they passed the second door right before their target, Misty suddenly gasped and threw her wings out.
The door beside them opened and a small Shadowbolt stallion rushed out while trying to put his suit and goggles on at the same time. He crashed right into Lightning Streak, who ran into Surprise.
Dash flinched and froze, Squall bumping into her, Shine bumping into Squall, and Playbitz bumping into Shine, causing all of them to stumble forward.
“Uh… SORRY!” the Shadowbolt frantically apologized as he looked up at Lightning Streak. It seemed this one was a bit more submissive, so maybe they wouldn’t—
“HEY!” A larger Shadowbolt stallion stepped out and glared down at Lightning… who was still pressed into Surprise. “Who said you could stand over my little brother?!”
Lightning blinked as he stared up at the stallion, but Surprise suddenly jabbed Lightning in the side.
“Get the hell offa me you overgrown gas bag!” she hissed at him, forcing Lightning’s attention to her. “Yeah I’m talking to you!” she shoved him away from the larger stallion. “I’m sicka you acting like you can rub yourself all over me!” She kept pushing him further and further away.
“The hell?” The large Shadowbolt stallion lifted an eyebrow. “GAH!” he gasped as Fire Streak grabbed him by the neck of his suit and yanked him down.
“Who said you could stand over my brother?” he snarled.
“Watch it, Shortstuff…” the Shadowbolt stallion growled as his ‘little brother’ kept backing away. The smaller stallion ran directly into Squall and yelped, turning around and looking up with wide eyes. Squall glared down at him fiercely, but the smaller stallion was looking over Squall’s shoulder. Squall blinked and looked over his shoulder to see Twister’s chin perched on it with a very absurd, disturbing look on it as he also glared down at the stallion. Squall growled and… punched Twister in the face.
Squall turned and kept hitting Twister… who took it like a champ as Dash, Shine, and Playbitz all rushed forward to break them up.
The large stallion looked away from his glaring contest with Fire and broke away towards the commotion to pull his little brother out of there.
“Screw this, let’s go!” he grumbled, pushing his brother along.
They all continued to scuffle in different ways until the two Shadowbolts had disappeared around the corner. They all stopped and looked to see the coast was clear, except for Squall, who kept punching Twister. Twister’s face changed into a different pony’s face each time it was punched. One of the times it turned into Matteo’s face, complete with a beak… which Squall punched twice as hard, only to stop when that made it turn into Little Star’s face, which made him scrunch his face and hold his breath.
“Squall, that’s enough…” Dash reached over and pulled him off as Twister stood up with his own face back in place and pulled out a mirror, smiling into it with his teeth glinting.
“Rgh…” Squall grumbled as Shine and Playbitz finally backed away, both distracted by how Twister was literally unfazed by several blows to the visage.
Fire breathed another sigh of relief as he looked around to make sure everypony was fine. He smiled when he looked towards Foxtrot and Zero. They played the part well, falling right into character… well… to a point. It seemed Squall randomly wailing on Twister was a regular thing. Either way, it worked. He blinked when he saw Surprise dragging Lightning Streak over by the tail as Lightning lay curled up on the floor and twitching while clutching his stallionhood.
“Eh…?” Fire lifted an eyebrow. Surprise giggled while sticking her tongue out.
“Um… it was an accident?” She flashed a forced smile as Lightning squeaked.
“Let’s all go to the mountains…” Lightning Streak sputtered, his voice an octave higher. Fire snorted, realizing what had happened.
“I, uh…” Surprise cringed while looking down at him. “Aimed a little low while trying to play it up…”
“The spunk bunkers have been compromised…fall back… retreat…” Lightning continued as he rolled over.
“Oh, get up,” Fire chuckled as he gave Lightning a gentle kick to the shoulder. “Suck it up and be a stallion, you’d think by now you’d be used to this.”
“Harsh bro…” Lightning groaned as he struggled to stand.
Fire turned as the rest of the group filed in, only to meet a strange look from Misty. She had her goggles pushed up and was looking at Fire with… a suggestive stare, while biting her lip and blushing a little. Fire’s eyes widened when he saw it, not sure what he had done to earn that look.
Surprise quickly zipped up beside Misty and looked between her and Fire. She tapped Misty on the shoulder to get her attention and used the sign language to ask her what the look was for. Misty made some motions in response before tipping her towards Fire and bouncing her eyebrows. The angle the two were at prevented Fire from seeing the signs. Surprise giggled before turning to him.
“Misty liked how you handled that big guy,” she pointed down the hall. “Bigger than you, but you got in his grill and faced him down like a boss!”
“Oh…” Fire chuckled and looked away nervously. “Well… heh… that was…”
“Sexy?” Surprise finished for him.
“Yes, that was se—what?! NO!” Fire turned bright red as Surprise keeled over laughing.
Before Fire could protest further, Dash cleared her throat.
“Guys…” she pointed towards the door.
Fire blinked, shook his head out, and tried to ignore the fact that Misty had taken a step closer to him. She was still giving him bedroom eyes and was now swaying back and forth too while biting her lip.
“Right…” he nodded. “Let’s check it out.”
The group continued, now thoroughly confident they could blend in as they approached the door in question.
Dash was right. It was a stairwell leading down. As she saw it, more memories came rushing back in. They weren’t pleasant ones for sure.
As they moved down the stairs, every step made Dash shiver a little. Her whole first experience in the Shadowbolt fortress was one of fear and uncertainty. If not for Descent and Starry’s unexpected desertion and assistance, who knows what would have happened to them? She couldn’t forget that Nightshade wanted to ‘keep’ her… whatever the hell that meant.
Dash took a deep breath as they reached the bottom of the stairs and turned the corner.
There it was, directly across from them, a straight shot from the entrance…
The cell she and Soarin were held in.
There was no mistaking it. To the rest it probably looked generic, but she could feel it. She could tell. She remembered how terrified she was, waking up in a place she didn’t recognize, trapped behind bars. Her experiences throughout the entire, drawn-out scenario with the Shadowbolts had taught her it was okay to be afraid, even if she was dead set on never being scared. Nightshade had proven to her what it really meant to be scared in more ways than one.
As they walked into the detention block, she began to remember how it all played out, how Rapidfire showed up and threw down their food, followed by Starry Skies intimidating him into cleaning it up and getting them more. She glanced to the cell beside it, remembering Lightning Dust crying on the floor, beaten and bruised after Nightshade put her in her own punching bag to ‘punish’ her for misusing the crystals. She remembered the revelations when Descent and Starry came to explain everything and let them go, seeing for the first time with her own eyes the softer side of Descent as he and Starry cared for Lightning Dust.
It was an experience for sure… but all of that aside… something wasn’t right.
They were in the detention block, but…
“Uh, Miss Dash?” Fire spoke up as the group spread out and looked around. “There’s nopony here…”
As Fire said, all of the cells were empty.
No sign of Wave Chill.
“But… I don’t get it,” Dash tipped her head to the side as she walked around to make sure she got a view of every cell. “This is where they held Soarin and I when we were here.”
“Think they have more than one detention block?” Lightning Streak asked as he, Misty, and Surprise walked around the cells for any sign of a pony. Dash bit her lip as she came around and looked towards Fire. Fire streak sighed and rubbed his chin.
“I believe it is safe to conclude that they have more than one… this could be a problem…” He turned, looking around at all them. “Time is of the essence but I’m not willing to split up, it’s too risky.”
“Then what are we standin’ around for?!” Surprise called out as she bounced up to Fire. “We better start looking!”
“Agreed,” Fire nodded. “Alright everypony, we have to—”
“AH!” Dash suddenly yelped, drawing all of the attention towards her. She stumbled backwards, tipping down and slowly lowering to the floor as she pressed a hoof to her chest. Surprise and Shine both quickly turned and went to her side as Squall and Twister lingered nearby. Fire gritted his teeth and growled when he saw Dash crumple.
“Blast it…” he grumbled as he shook his head. “We don’t have time for this.” He turned and pointed at Lightning. “Brother, I want you to carry Miss Dash, we need to…” he trailed off as his eyes darted to the left at Misty. Her eyes were wide and her wings twitching… followed by her looking sharply to the left towards the stairs. Fire quickly followed her eyes towards the way they came from…
And looked directly into the eyes of Shadowbolt commander Moon.
He was standing in the doorway, his goggles around his neck and his crystals resting on his back between his wings. He wore a calm expression while looking back and forth at the group.
Fire shuffled through his brain quickly for something to say, but Surprise beat him to the punch.
“HEY!” Surprise yelled while turning away from Dash and grabbing Twister. She scrunched her face and glared at him as he simply smiled back. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!” she pointed at Dash. She turned and threw Twister towards Moon. Twister gave no physical reaction, his smile remaining as he bounced along the ground and slid to a stop at Moon’s hooves. Surprise leapt over and grabbed the neck of Twister’s suit, hoisting him up with one hoof as he went limp in her grip. “I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU…” She punched him in the face. “TO STOP TOUCHING…” She punched him in the face again. “MY BEST FRIEND…” She punched him again. “OR ELSE I’D…” And again. “PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE REPEATEDLY!” she yelled while she continued to punch Twister in the face. Every time he took a hit to the face, his toothy smile showed new missing teeth, but which teeth were missing kept changing every time he got punched, ones missing before coming back.
Moon just stared at them flatly while lifting an eyebrow.
“Oh, stop it,” he said simply. Surprise froze as she wound up another punch, Twister’s body completely limp like a ragdoll in her other hoof with his goggles dangling off the tip of his ear and his eyes filled with spirals. “I know who you are,” Moon added, Surprise's eyes widening and looking towards Moon.
Moon shook his head.
“Third Commander Surprise and Foxtrot Recruit Twister…” He looked past them. “Third Captain Fire Streak, Third Commander Lightning Streak, Third Commander Misty Fly, Foxtrot Recruit Captain Rainbow Dash, Foxtrot Recruit Squall…” He paused as he eyed Shine Struck and Playbitz. “You’re two of those new Wonderbolts that randomly showed up in our first attack…” He glanced over at the cell to their left. “And you, underneath the cot in cell B-14. You can come out now.”
Swift’s head appeared from the shadow beneath the cot, eyes wide as he poked his head out.
Everypony was frozen in a moment of shock. Moon literally saw right through them and called out each one of them despite their color changes.
“What?” Moon scoffed. “You really think I don’t know my own Shadowbolts?”
Before anypony could do anything else, Squall decided to make a move… a rash move, but it was clear they were compromised. He launched from his spot, glided towards Moon, and squared up to take his stance as he drew near.
“HOOOORYYYA—” before he could attack, Moon’s crystals jumped off his back and wrapped around his right hoof as he held it up. They all glowed brightly, firing ribbons of pink energy towards Squall. “GAH!!!” Squall yelped as the energy surrounded Squall and held him in place, his hoof inches from Moon’s face. The rest of the Wonderbolts took battle stances as Moon trapped Squall, but he tipped his head and lifted his brow.
“Will you all just relax?” he asked as he rolled his eyes. The Wonderbolts all blinked as Moon slowly pushed Squall through the air towards them and gently placed him back on the floor. “I’m not here to fight. So you can drop the bad act.”
“Uh…” Fire failed to find any words as he and the rest all just stared towards Moon. Lightning, on the other hoof, was quick to loosen up.
“Bad act? Bro… we got this far with that ‘bad act,’” he pointed out as the rest of the Wonderbolts cautiously moved out of their stances.
“Pfff…” Moon scoffed as he took a few steps into the room and leaned against the cell on his right. “Please… I was suspicious from the start. And really? A black dragon? Anypony with a brain knows that the black dragons were sealed over a thousand years ago by the Divine Princesses and Sombra the Great. The moment I saw that thing sitting on the mountain I knew it was all fake.”
Confused and befuddled, the Wonderbolts all glanced between each other, Wondering why Moon was being so… casual around them. And if he knew it was an act… why didn’t he do something about it? Surprise crossed her arms and pouted at Moon.
“Well, aren’t you so very smart,” she huffed. “I guess it didn’t matter though cause we convinced your buddies to fire the cannon and drop the shield anyway,” she ended by sticking her tongue out at him.
“No you didn’t,” Moon said promptly. Surprise lifted an eyebrow.
“Somepony is in denial, how do you think we got in?” she continued to press.
“Our idiotic pilot on duty was taking a nap in his chair,” Moon explained while tapping a hoof to his chest. “I fired the cannon.”
“What?” Surprise narrowed her eyes and stared towards Moon with utter confusion. Moon pushed off the cell and started walking towards them. Dash in particular, while still dealing with her heart jumping, was incredibly confused.
“I fired it, and walked out using the pilot as a scapegoat to cover my tracks. I had a feeling you were here to stage a rescue, and how else were you going to get in? It’s the only way to drop the shield. I know the Wonderbolts aren’t stupid. You wouldn’t have tried if you didn’t know.” He turned back towards the door. “You’re here for Second Commander Wave Chill, correct?” He paused and looked up. His eyes began to glow for a few seconds before he looked back down. “Our captain is currently teaching our evening-duty pilot a ‘lesson’ in wasting crystal energy and Ruin decided to go watch… which is no surprise. We have a window here. Follow me.”
Dash shook her head out as Moon turned away. A random heart pang made her ears ring for a moment as Moon was speaking. She missed whatever Moon said in between mentioning Wave and that they had a window, but that’s all she needed to hear. Moon wanted to help them? What was going on?
“No,” Fire held out a hoof before any of them could follow. “This is a trick. It’s too easy,” he growled. Moon sighed and looked over his shoulder.
“Do you want to save your fellow Wonderbolt or not? That’s the whole reason you’re here isn’t it?” he asked.
“What reason do we have to trust you?” Fire sharply asked. Moon shook his head.
“Our crystal energy is considered a privilege… some among us are real fanatics about it… borderline insane. Wasting it is heavily frowned upon by our higher authority, and met with extreme punishment. Do you honestly believe we would be ordered to waste an entire main cannon charge just to capture a small group of Wonderbolts?”
A silence grew between them as Fire continued to keep a wary eye on Moon, but Dash suddenly stood up and walked towards Fire.
“Fire… I trust him,” she said, causing everypony to look at her as if she had gone mad.
“Miss Dash,” Fire furrowed his brow at her. “Are you not feeling well now too? How could you possibly justify trusting our enemy?”
“What he said about the crystal power,” Dash pointed at Moon. “That’s completely true. I saw it myself. Lightning Dust and Rapidfire were brutally punished for misusing the power the crystals gave them. There’s no way they would have cleared using up so much of the energy for such a small goal.”
“She’s right, you know…” Moon said as soon as Dash finished. “While I have no intention of apologizing to our pilot for using him… it’s safe to say he won’t be one of our pilots after this, or possibly alive depending on how hard he gets ‘reminded’ of proper crystal use. Now let’s go… while Ruin is occupied.” Moon turned and started walking towards the stairs.
The Wonderbolts all looked towards Fire. He scrunched his face, conflicted on how to proceed, but with Moon almost to the door, he gave a hoof motion for them to follow.
“No matter what you do…” Fire whispered to the rest as they followed Moon up the stairs. “DO NOT… take your eyes off of him,” he warned, favoring caution over relaxation. Despite Dash’s confirmation of Moon’s words, their numbers over him, and his lack of interest in confronting them, Moon was still a Shadowbolt, and not of the Renegade variety. He was an enemy.
But then why was he taking them to Wave? It was either a boon or a trap, but should Moon prove to be trustworthy, it raised several questions about the internal affairs of the Shadowbolts.
Why would Moon, a Shadowbolt commander with the power of three crystals be willing to help them? From what they had seen so far it had been assumed their judgment had been clouded by the power the crystals gave them, which didn’t help their suspicion of Moon, but again… should he be telling the truth…
Just how complicated of a situation had they stumbled upon?
Dash flinched as they made it to the floor above them, but then kept going up the stairs instead of heading back into the hallway. Shine Struck nearly ran into Dash, looking her over quickly.
“What was that?” she asked. “Another heart shock?”
Dash blinked and quickly shook her head while taking a breath.
“No… sorry… just remembering more about this place…” Dash replied. She left it at that, the less she talked about it the better. She and Soarin had only gone up one floor before making their escape… but prior to that, when Descent and Starry took them from their cell, they went up both flights of stairs and made their way down the second floor hallway towards… Nightshade’s ‘office,’ if one could even call it that.
“Where exactly are you taking us?” Fire asked Moon as they neared the second floor, his voice harsh to send a signal of caution. Moon ignored Fire’s tone as he glanced back at them.
“Unlike most of our prisoners… Wave was never put in a detention cell. Ruin wanted to interrogate him immediately,” he explained with a slight tone of frustration in his voice. “When I asked him why… he ignored me. But knowing him, he probably predicted that the Wonderbolts would come after Wave.”
“Interrogation?” Fire repeated with skepticism.
“That hardly describes it,” Moon shook his head. “That’s what Ruin calls it. I don’t know if any of you have gotten much exposure to him yet… but he has more than a dozen screws loose. I doubt anything Ruin has done thus far could be considered interrogating. He’s a sick, twisted mind who gets a rush from inflicting pain on others.”
Dash shuddered at the thought. Ruin sounded similar to Nightshade in that regard… but it was a little different. It sounded like Ruin simply liked to inflict pain and enjoyed it… Nightshade got off to watching others struggle and squirm, no matter how she had to make it happen.
“Ruin likes to break them from the start before even asking them anything,” Moon continued. “And since Wave has been here since last night… I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been tortured quite a bit already.”
“What?!” Fire perked up, the rest all reacting in a similar manner.
“That’s why we can’t dawdle,” Moon reminded them as they reached the second floor hallway. “We’re lucky he decided to take a break right as you all showed up.”
“That’s too convenient,” Fire stopped and held out a hoof to make the rest stop behind him. “Using our own emotions and worry for our comrade while leading us along is just the kind of thing I’d expect a sly enemy to do. You honestly expect us to believe you’re leading us to our objective when your friend just so happened to be occupied? And then you’re going to give Wave to us and let us on our merry way? How stupid do you think we are? HEY! I’M TALKING TO YOU!” Fire spat as Moon looked up at the ceiling. They all flinched as one of his crystals hovered over to his hoof and his eyes glowed, still pointing at the ceiling. An image of Ruin laughing appeared above the crystal.
“Yes! YEAH! Oooohohoho hit him harder!” the image of Ruin guffawed and pumped his hooves as if he was watching something he enjoyed. Moon’s eyes returned to normal and the crystal floated back over to him as he pointed towards the ceiling.
“Ruin is on the bridge, like I said he was. I just showed you where he is, and am fully aware of his movements. If he starts heading back down, I will know. Now if you really want to save your friend, I suggest you stop asking questions and follow me.”
Moon turned and started down the hallway as Fire blinked and looked back at the rest. Everypony was very confused… could they really trust Moon? Their options were already stretched thin… at this point it seemed like they had no choice.
Fire gave a nod and they all started up again, following behind Moon.
As they moved Dash subtly began shifting to Squall’s side. Squall noticed immediately and furrowed his brow.
“What are you doing?” he asked quietly.
“Just… keep walking please…” Dash said with her voice a little shaky.
“Why?” he lifted an eyebrow.
“Squall, shut up and do it… please…” she repeated, asking sharply but nicely. Squall huffed and did as he was told.
Dash appreciated that he did, because as they walked behind Moon, he led them right past Nightshade’s room. Dash didn’t want to think about it and she didn’t even want to see it, much less notice any indication that Nightshade might actually be in there. If Nightshade really were nearby, she was certain Moon wouldn’t be helping them like this, but all that mattered was the possibility.
Moon ended up taking them three doors past Nightshade’s room, stopping at another pair of double doors. There was a sign on it that read: ‘Ruin’s Special Room. Intruders will be killed. Survivors will be killed again.’
There was a crystal lock on the door, with a crystal chain linked between the door handles.
“Give me a second here…” Moon nodded to them as he stepped towards the door and his crystals floated off his back. They hovered close together in front of him while pointing their tips towards the lock. A small beam shot forth from each of them into the lock. Moon furrowed his brow, concentrating as he worked his magic against the strange security piece. Eventually, after moving the crystals and their beams around, there was a click and the crystal lock disintegrated along with the chain links. “There…” Moon nodded with satisfaction as he reached forward and pulled the door open.
Every Wonderbolt’s ears stood up when the first sound they heard… was a drawn out, painful, lame groan that was almost continuous. Fire nearly pushed passed Moon as they all entered and galloped in. They all came to an abrupt halt and gasped.
As Moon had said, Ruin was not there. The room was dark and empty… completely empty from the door to the sides and all the way to the back… save for one thing. The light from the hallway shined through the open door, reaching all the way to the very back of the room…
Where Wave Chill was chained to the wall… with six pink crystals hovering about a yard from him, all focusing a constant gentle discharge of pink energy that splashed against him.
Wave cringed and groaned in pain, his neck twisting and straining back and forth as he gritted his teeth. There were tear stains down his fur beneath his eyes, quiet, desperate wails escaping his throat as the pink energy touched him. His body was covered in what looked like painful burns that followed distinct paths over his body leading towards where each crystal was currently focusing.
The shock had them all frozen… all except for Moon and Misty Fly. Misty broke into a gallop towards Wave, a look of horror and desperation on her face as she rushed towards him.
Fire gasped as he saw Misty move, knowing that it would be reckless to approach so many crystals while their magic was activated. Her intent to save Wave was clear, but if something were to happen.
“STOP!” Moon yelled as he thrust out a hoof and his crystals rotated around it. Intense ribbons of pink magic shot from his hoof and struck Misty, catching her in his telekinesis and freezing her right before she could reach Wave. She struggled to break free, trying to reach her hooves out to Wave, but Moon held her firmly in place.
Whether or not he was aware Misty couldn’t hear him was irrelevant. He clearly understood something about the crystals they didn’t and prevented her from doing something rash. Regardless, Fire wasn’t too thrilled that Moon had a hold on Misty.
“Hey!” he yelled sharply. “Release her!” he demanded as he looked between her and Moon, everypony else completely focused on Wave, hesitating to approach.
“Let me deal with the crystals,” Moon replied, giving Fire a stern look. He released the energy, letting it linger around Misty, holding her in place as he trotted forward and focused his three crystals on the six surrounding Wave. Moon’s eyes began to glow as his crystals floated out and one by one, his three crystals removed those focused on Wave by surrounding it, cutting off its discharge, clamping to it, and guiding it over to the right-hoof wall.
All the Wonderbolts watched with painful patience as Moon continued the slow process, eventually removing all six crystals from around Wave one at a time.
Wave’s pained wails ceased, but his breathing remained heavy, he continued to groan, and his eyes remained shut tight. Moon released Misty the moment the crystals were cleared, and she immediately rushed forward. She didn’t even look at Moon as she, Fire, Surprise, and Lightning all approached Wave and began looking him over frantically, examining the chains that held him to the wall.
“Commander!” Fire called out as he propped his hooves up on the wall beside Wave. “Commander, it’s us!”
“Chiller! Bro!” Lightning propped up on the other side. “Come on dude, look at us!”
“Uhhhhhhhh…”Wave moaned as his eyes slowly forced apart.
“Wave!” Surprise called out sadly as she and Misty hovered in front of him with looks of intense worry on their faces. “Say something! Please!”
“G… guys?” Wave sputtered his voice hoarse and weak. “S…Surprise? Misty?” his pupils moved slowly as his eyelids struggled to stay open. They moved left and right. “Fire…? Lightning…?”
“Hang tough bro! We’re getting’ ya out of here!” Lightning patted him on the shoulder lightly.
“AHHHHHH!!!!! Ahhhhhhh…” Wave cringed and cried out as Lightning frantically pulled his hoof away.
“Aw hell…” Lightning grimaced as Wave shivered in pain.
“Painful to the touch…” Fire pondered out loud as he looked Wave over. He shifted and nodded. “Brother… let’s get him out of these chains. Be as gentle as possible,” he ordered, earning a nod from Lightning. “Commander,” Fire spoke calmly to Wave. “We are going to get you down… we’ll try to make it as painless as we can.”
“Don’t… bother worrying…” Wave barely managed to say as he continued to shake. “My whole body… is on fire… everything hurts… and everything will hurt,” he struggled to speak a full sentence.
“Then...” Fire’s ears flopped down and he sighed. “Forgive us… this will be painful.”
“I don’t… care…” Wave said, his voice cracking. “Just help me… make it end…” It was absolutely disheartening to the rest to hear the brave second commander of the Wonderbolt squad two sound so broken. “I want… to go home…” he continued, new tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “I want… to see Spitfire… I… AH…!” he choked as his body cringed.
“Stop talking!” Surprise ordered him as she floated close, but avoided touching him. “We all came this far to bring you back, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do!” she stated adamantly with Misty Fly hovering beside her eyes filled with determination.
“Let’s get to work on these chains,” Fire ordered Lightning. “Stay strong commander…”
As squad three gingerly worked on freeing Wave, the rest of the Wonderbolts sat behind, allowing the top tier elite squad to do their work. Rainbow Dash was just as concerned about Wave as they were, but she was still trying to wrap her head around something.
She glanced towards Moon, who was sitting patiently and simply letting them rescue Wave. His eyes were glowing and remained fixed on an angle towards the ceiling, just as he had when he ‘showed’ them Ruin. Was he keeping a lookout for his fellow Shadowbolt? That had to be the case. This didn’t make any sense at all.
“I don’t get it,” Shine Struck spoke up as she shifted over and sat down next to Dash. “Why is he just letting us take their prisoner? It seems too good to be true.”
“Don’t look at me,” Dash shook her head. “I’m trying to figure it out too…” she paused as they watched Moon’s eyes move back and forth, looking at the ceiling. “It seems too easy, but he’s been convincing so far. I’m stuck right where you are, why would he help us?”
“We could always just ask,” Playbitz’s voice came from right behind them, causing them to both blink and look behind at him. “I mean…” he paused as a cry of pain came from the direction of Wave. They all looked over and cringed as they watched the Streak twins lower Wave from the wall to the floor as softly as they could. “Yikes…” Playbitz shuddered. “Anyway… it looks like we’re gonna give Wave a few moments, we might as well ask Moon why he’s helping us. What’ll it hurt?”
Shine and Dash both blinked at Playbitz before looking at each other.
“I guess,” Shine shrugged. “Which of us will…” she trailed off as she glanced back over at Moon. “Oh.”
“Huh?” Dash also looked over to see Squall up and moving towards Moon. “Looks like somepony else is just as curious,” she commented as she rose and followed behind with Shine, Playbitz, Swift, and Twister bringing up the rear.
Moon continued to look towards the ceiling, his nose scrunching every few moments up until Squall stopped right in front of him, looking at Moon with narrow, skeptical eyes. Moon noticed Squall standing before him, the light fading from his eyes as he looked towards Squall and lifted an eyebrow.
“You want something?” he asked in a blunt tone, noticing Dash and the others also moving up behind Squall.
“Why?” Squall asked while scowling.
“Hm…?” Moon refocused on Squall.
“Why are you helping us? It doesn’t make sense and I hate being confused,” he demanded. Moon scoffed.
“Well, that’s too bad,” he said before looking back up at the ceiling, but before his eyes could glow again, Squall reached forward and grabbed the chest of his suit and yanked on it.
“Tell me!” Squall growled as he tugged on the stretchy fabric of Moon’s suit. Moon looked back down and glared.
“If you don’t want me to blow your arm off… you will let go of me RIGHT now…” Moon threatened with a snarl.
“Hey, hey… enough…” Dash stepped up and put her hoof on Squall’s extended arm. “Squall... let go,” she ordered sternly. Squall grunted and pulled his hoof free, snorting as he kept his eyes locked on Moon. Dash looked him over before turning her head to Moon. “I’m afraid I must agree with my wingmate here, though…” she turned square to Moon. “We’re all a little confused.”
“And that’s just wonderful,” Moon retorted again. “I’m helping you free a friend of yours, I’m not here to explain myself,” he huffed, quickly reactivating his magic and looking up.
“Please?” Dash added on a whim. Moon looked back down, the magic fading. He looked back and forth at all of them and then looked over them to see squad three working with Wave. Moon sighed, looking down and grumbling to himself for a moment.
“It really doesn’t matter,” he spoke up. “I’m only doing what I feel is right. Can’t you just accept that and leave it be?”
“No. Ow!” Squall flinched as Dash jabbed him in the shoulder. She looked towards Moon and examined his posture. He had been sitting upright, but just now he slumped, his ears looked like they were about to flop to the side of his head.
“Alright,” Dash nodded. Moon quickly looked up, a surprised expression on his face. “If you’re reasons are personal, then I won’t pry, but…” Dash smiled at him. “Thank you for helping us,” she finished with a nod.
Moon kept his eyes locked on Dash as she turned and started corralling the rest to leave it be, making hoof motions for them to turn and leave. Moon watched for a moment as they all started turning away, then hung his head and sighed heavily. Dash heard him sigh and she glanced over her shoulder at him. She was obviously still curious… but Moon clearly didn’t want to share. Whatever his motivations were didn’t matter at this point. He was helping them save Wave. That’s all that mattered right now.
“Hm?!” Moon suddenly looked up sharply, his eyes glowing again. He looked back and forth quickly, his frantic movements causing the rest to turn back and look at him again. His sudden change in demeanor also caught the attention of squad three, who had finally managed to get Wave up and supported by the Streak twins. “Ruin is moving!” Moon exclaimed before looking down at them all. “You have to leave, NOW!”
All eyes moving to Fire Streak as he helped support Wave.
“We have who we came for, can you show us the way out?!” Fire asked Moon frantically, realizing the weight of the situation. Moon shook his head.
“I can’t,” he stated simply.
“Well gee, thanks bro! Let us in but now we’re on our own?” Lightning growled at Moon, who ignored Lightning’s tone as he focused on Fire.
“I have to cover my own tracks, in fact I’m going to sound the alarm and report we’ve been infiltrated,” he explained.
“Say what?!” Surprise reacted, getting in Moon’s face as Dash and the rest backed off to let squad three handle the moment.
“I’m only doing what I must to avoid suspicion!” Moon growled. “Look, take the stairs back down, take the third hallway on the right, and then take the first stairwell down on the left. That leads to one of our Falcon hangers! The place will be all but empty with nearly every Shadowbolt already outside. There will be a lever right by the door that opens the hangar bay. It’s the quickest way out from here! I’m giving you all a half-minute head start, so GO!” he yelled pointing at the door.
None of them protested. Moon made it clear what they had to do, and that time was of the essence. They had to move to avoid Ruin and get moving before whoever was left in the fortress was notified of intruders. They had to MOVE.
“GO! GO! GO!” Fire yelled as he and Lightning moved as fast as they could with Wave on their shoulders. He was groaning in pain, but they didn’t have time to move him carefully. They made their way out of the room with the rest following right behind. Dash paused for a brief second in the doorway and glanced back at Moon. He shot her a stern glare as she did.
Without any further acknowledgement, Dash pushed her curiosity to the back of her mind as she turned and chased after the group.
“Uuuhhhh… hhhrrrrrgggg…” Soarin groaned as pain shot through his body. His eyelids squeezed together as he felt his nerves shudder and his head throb with one of the worst headaches he had felt in a long time. He pressed his hooves down, digging them into the stone floor below him as he forced his eyes to open.
He was in the tunnel at the end of the collapsing cave, rays of light beaming through the exit on the other side. He lifted his head up slowly, every inch his neck moved made his head feel like it was being tightened further and further into a vice, but he had to know what the situation was.
He looked back slowly to see that he was lying on a pile of rocks, but by the amount of bruises on his back and wings and how much it all hurt, he concluded that he probably took several large pieces of cave to the back as they tried to dive through. His wing muscles felt so swollen that he couldn’t even move them without sharp pain. Whatever had hit him, it had knocked him out, but at least he avoided being buried.
Then he realized there was somepony he should probably be looking for.
“R…Rapidfire?” he said weakly, looking around as his head continued to ache horribly. “Rapidfire?” he repeated, but nopony replied and Rapidfire was nowhere to be found. Soarin looked up towards the exit of the tunnel twenty yards ahead of him. He knew he pushed Rapidfire forward, getting him into the tunnel before the cave came down. So it looked like whatever happened, Rapidfire was up before him… and had taken the chance to get away.
“Dammit…” Soarin cursed as he slowly pushed himself up on his hooves. Rapidfire had gotten away, but that didn’t matter. All Soarin wanted to do was find his way home and reunite with Dash and the Wonderbolts.
Now the only problem was… he could barely walk. His head was killing him, his magic sputtering from the cracks in the horn, and on top of it his body felt like it had been pounded into submission as if the cave actually had fallen on him. All of the pain put together was overwhelming… so much so that he felt like he was going to pass out if it got any worse.
“Hrrrgghhh… come on…” Soarin groaned as he forced his hooves along, dragging himself towards the light at the end of the tunnel.
He slowly… slowly made his was all the way to the exit, and stopped when he reached the edge. He narrowed his eyes and managed to reach a hoof up in front of his face to shield his eyes from the light as he leaned against the edge of the tunnel.
A cold blast of wind hit his face as he removed his hoof and his eyes adjusted.
He did it… he made it out alive… now he just…
Now he…
Just…
Soarin groaned as he took two steps out onto the snow covered mountainside. His horn began to flash and blink, yellow light rising from one eye and blue light rising from the other as magical energy began seeping through the cracks on the horn’s surface.
“I…” Soarin’s head bobbed back and forth, the headache growing worse by the second. “I…” he fell forward, his face hitting the snow as he slid a few inches down the snowy slope and came to a halt as the terrain evened out just a few yards below. “I can’t…” Soarin said as he looked up, bits and flakes of snow stuck to his fur around his nose and eyes.
“Rainbow… Dash…” his voice squeaked as his chin hit the ground and his eyes slowly closed. His vision turned green, matching the mixed yellow and blue as the pain overwhelmed him and he passed out.
---To Be Continued---
Art by: Foxenawolf
Oh? Looks like Rapidfire dug Soarin out... not that he would want Soarin to know that. Looks like he's not completely devoid of honor, feeling obligated to help Soarin after he did so much to help him... but i wonder what will happen to him now... 
So i wonder...
Moon as seemed different up to this point, generally showing no enjoyment in their battles and even looking reluctant to hold Spitfire during the confrontation before... and now... he helped them free Wave Chill. I wonder what Moon's story is?
Either way, they better hope they get out before Ruin finds them... that certainly won't go well.
On another note... Piercing the Heavens has just reached 500 likes! 
Thank you all who have supported me thus far! The story goes on and your support helps every step of the way 
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!
Note to self: Don't mess with Fire Streak or Misty Fly will punch you... HARD 
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Challenge excepted!
Yay first commenter!
Well now, this could be interesting. Moon is either running his own agenda or believes in Descent but is hooked to the crystals and can't leave. Or Ruin and Moon are pulling some weird crap.
YOU KNOW
I want another chapter now LOL
and moon? i bet he dosnt like the shadowbolts i bet hes being forced there by runic as he is his brother!
Soooooo cute!!!!!
Squall can't hit Twister in the face when he's wearing a Little Star Mask even though he knows it's Twister?---“I DARE you to punch this face,” Twister said, his face still shaped like Little Star’s. Squall completely flattened his expression, but didn’t say or do anything else.
Moon Helping them because he thinks this is right does he live by a code of honor like Descent?---“It really doesn’t matter,” he spoke up. “I’m only doing what I feel is right. Can’t you just accept that and leave it be?”
Rapidfire helped Soarin so he does have some honor---Looks like he's not completely devoid of honor
Surprise hitting Lightning Streak in the Stalliohood why am i not surprised?---He blinked when he saw Surprise dragging Lightning Streak over by the tail as Lightning lay curled up on the floor and twitching while clutching his stallionhood.
Man I do not want to make Misty Mad!--- Misty Fly turned and throttled the mare with the left hook right to the cheek.
Great Chapter Calm Superb Work Right now i would give this story 10 Fluttershy Yays out of 10 Fluttershy Yays.
Also Wave wanting to see Spitfire-.... So cute.
Plus Moon knowing it each squad member wonder how he knew.
I'm rather confident that they'll escape before Ruin finds them. Also, how as it that Rainbow Dash remained calm in trusting Moon?
Chapter 117... I'm going to guess you are either going to name it, "A Shadowy Escape" or "A Royal Pain"
Poor Wave! I fully expected him NOT to be there, and they find him somewhere completely diffetent... Ouch.
As for Soarin... Where is Matty when you need him!
YAY! THEY FOUND WAVE!!! *blows streamers and balloons everywhere*
Dammit, I am NOWHERE near done with that story. . . well, it'll just have to wait.
I wonder what's going on with Moon. I thought he was going to betray them sometime in the chapter. Hm. . . something's up with that guy. Either he really is on the good side. . . or he's planning to make them all pay in the end. Hopefully the former.
So seems like Rapidfire escaped death penalty. It would've been nicER if he stayed until Soarin woke up. But that's nice enough for him.
More Sombra/Celestia talk next chap?
Holy crap this chapter was AWESOME!!!
Dash, is now a captain. DAMN I just LOVE THIS STORY!
Ooh...I knew there was something off about Moon. And he helped them now. Like everypony else, I wonder why...?
I hope for another chapter soon.
Moon helping ? there is something going on here. this will be interesting to see play out.
Soarin is down and out. what is going to happen to Dash right now? will she go down also?
we will all have to stay tuned to this Chanel till next time.
I really good chapter and every pony played a vary important part, even if it was being punched in the face repeatedly.
Harts Fire
**heavy breathing** I had a feeling about Moon being not-fully indoctrinated... Gah! Dammit Calm!!! Write more!!!
You seem to come up with some strange chapter names at times
MEMORIES, DASH, THEY HURT
FREE YOURSELF OF YOUR PAST
Move the comma a word to the left
"as he trotted forward"
Comma after "place"
Hmmm....interesting turn of events. Moon seems to be an enigma, that's for sure. I have to wonder if he was asked to join the Renegades, turned down the offer and now regrets it.
Any bets that the captain torturing the pilot is Nightshade? She seems to be the only one sicker in the head than Ruin, at least that we've seen.
Love that Wave wants to see Spitfire. That's a nice touch. Hopefully that will come to pass in the next chapter.
Fire, do NOT make your lady angry.
It's in your best interest to stay on her good side. Seriously.
So, Rapidfire seems to have dug Soarin out. I wonder if he decided to go it alone after that or head back to the Shadowbolts. It does worry me that Soarin is now, for all intents, defenseless so close to the Shadowbolts-one harrowing rescue is enough!
L-lewd but hilarious
Oh jeez these two have just been getting a beating lately if any wonderbolts deserve R&R its these poor unlucky stallions
Also I too wonder where Moons loyalties lie?
Well great chapter as always Calm and congrats on 500 likes see you in 117
Nice chapter
You know, this is the only thing I don't like about reading unfinished fics...I have to wait for more awesomeness. And that is not a good thing for someone with as little patience as me. Eh, I'll just voice my displeasure to my dog until next chapter.
good chapter, quite the mystery with Moon
Sorry to do this to you all, but.... I tormented Calm so I must share the pain.
Who let Moon Moon guard the Wonderbolt?
Jokes aside, amazing chapter as always!
AMAZING chapter like always! I can't wait to see how this will all turn out! Gotta say, you've made another interesting character out of Moon.
Why is it that just about every chapter, I have to look a word up? Like when you wrote sphygmomanometer, I wanted to say, stop showing off just say blood pressure monitor.
Everybody Hates Chris, no, ok. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Good cause I'm learning new words or bad because I don't know my English dictionary like I should. Anyways...
I knew Rapidfire would help Soarin out. If only someone would have took my bet. I still don't know if it was for all the right reasons, but hey who cares, he's out to live another day. Cause it's a good day to die hard. You have no idea how long I've been wanting say that.
Side bar, I read that certain fanfic giggity even though I said I wouldn't. Terrible. It's tragic. I'm ashamed of myself. *tilts head down and whispers* The first part was true, but the second part was a lie. Whoop.
I have a quick theory about the next chapter before I'm forced to leave. And I think Jim might agree on this one.
Rapidfire returns while the fighting is still going on, and is forced to return to the base through the hangar. Thus discovering the rescue attempt and delaying them, and then... Well I'm not sure from there, I expect that Dash will have heart problems due to Soarin passing out and that causes trouble, but Rapidfire should be so weak with no crystals as well that they can easily beat them. Other than that, plus other parts in the next chapter are a mystery to me.
Off to you Jim!
I expect you to theorize about why Moon is helping them, I don't think that what he said is the only reason, and I don't have the proper theorizing skills that you possess. Give me a hand here?
Hey Calm. I just wanted to say: thank you.
Deus ex machina
While I'm reading this story, I'm really piercing the heavens
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Hopefully, future chapters provide that, but until then... *Opens up a new theory file: "Moon"* I'll be ready... 
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Sorry, been busy with the start of a new semester (especially since it's my final one).
For immediate guesses, I do think Rainbow is going to collapse next chapter, forcing them to improvise on the escape, possibly stealing a Falcon (a la Star Trek: Nemesis). Whether Rapid makes it back in time to do anything or not is another matter, considering that he got slammed into a mountain
And as to Moon's motivations, it's hard to say at this point. We know so very little about his past, it's nearly impossible to say what he is driven by. The best I can come up with, off the cuff and at 2 AM, is that he knows that Nightshade is insane, has drifted too far from what the Shadowbolts stand for, and must be stopped. This viewpoint is what drove Descent to form the Renegades. However, where Descent chose to strike from the outside, Moon is biding his time from within. One thing that *REALLY* bothers me is his reference to "Sombra the Great". That seems really significant, and not the sort of thing that Calm would throw out there for no reason, but I can't see where that piece would fit in. I absolutely agree there's a lot more there, but unfortunately, I cannot make bricks without clay.
Also, just to show what I'm referencing:
Dat pic of Twister tho
Oooo, I don't know how Soarin's gonna get outta this one *cringe*
Moon. Hmm, there must be something of his past that is related to the Wonderbolts, cause he helped them and showed hesitation towards Spitfire, what are his motives really?
Woah, woah, woah! Hold up! Sombra the great?!?! Say what?! I sense a connection!
vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/b/b7/Season_5_Applejack_animation_%22Say_what%3F%22_Yahoo_TV.gif/revision/latest?cb=20150212210544
I think Dash will collapse when they run into Ruin (or possibly Rapidfire)
look like you're running
I'm sure Surprise will help later... now what kind of night would they have????
That picture is fucking perfect!
Oooh, I wonder who'll be waiting there... Will their escape be... Lucky?
Well, Sombra had to be involved somewhere along the lines with these crystals...
Kayn Ost... Sombra the Great... Was there another name Sombra went by that had a k,y, and n in it I wonder...
...King Sombra... but where does the 'y' come from?
6859395 She's Recruit Squad Foxtrot's captain. Has been since the group was formed.
Good job as always
Oh god.... Poor wave
oh god... That's just so disturbing
media3.giphy.com/media/D12CsrRNv7gL6/200_s.gif
I honestly thought this chapter was going to be about Luna
I'm determined to make a Misty Fly-ish Frisk now.
I wonder who is that gentlepony going to turn out to be.
6859823 Now that I understand that reference, I'm over here giggling... XD
SO! Now for my thoughts on the chapter, since I've finished my theorizing for now...
Misty was adorable this chapter.
Enough said. 
The Shadowbolt scenes are being tucked away as future reference material for myself.
And hot damn...
If Spitfire doesn't marry Wave the moment this is over, she has to be absolutely blind...
Amazing chapter! I just shitted rainbows (like i said a few chapters back)- Soarin and Rapidfire got out yay
oh god I love her too much! 
Misty was total badass- as always
Surprise and her antics
AND SQUALL!!! SQUALL IS THE BEST!!
love this chapter and hope this story would reach 600!
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YOU CAN'T
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Thanks! yay! All of the yays!
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Indeed, i wonder what that magnificent perceptive bastard is up to eh?
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I wonder what his true motivations are?
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She saw first hoof what happens to those who misuse the power of the crystals back in flying sky high. May have been a bit rash to trust them, but they didnt have much choice or time... they also outnumbered him... all not the BEST reasons... but enough to make a choice, in the end it was good they did
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Poor Wave indeed
He just wants to see his lady
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CRI EVERTIM
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The Mysterious Moon eh? wonder what he's all about...
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assuming thats who the voices are
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Thanks!
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And i love that profile image xD saw it on derpibooru the other day, it's great
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Indeed, Moon the mystery...
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Twister always helps... in his own way...
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Am i feeding your addiction?
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Ah, thanks for those!
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It will definitely be interesting to figure out whats going on in Moon's head
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They really have been beat up a lot, haven't they?
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Thanks!
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And your dog will love you unconditionally regarless because he is dog and dog love hooman
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Indeed
I have a feeling that you, specifically, will love the next chapter 
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i.imgur.com/sCkxljC.jpg
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Thanks! I was really looking forward to revealing this little surprise with Moon