• Published 3rd Jun 2014
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Piercing the Heavens - Calm Wind



Sequel to Flying Sky-High. A lot has happened, but now Rainbow Dash finally has a chance to fulfill her dream and become a Wonderbolt. As the process begins, will her relationship with Soarin be a blessing? Or will it be a curse?

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Chapter 117: Escape Escapade

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 117: Escape Escapade


“KEEP MOVING!” Fire Streak yelled out as they made it back to the first floor and galloped down the hall. “Even if you see any Shadowbolts, DON’T STOP!”

With Fire and Lightning Streak at point carrying Wave Chill, the group thundered their way down the corridor, past where they turned before, following Moon’s instructions towards what he said would be some sort of hanger bay. He had mentioned it was a ‘Falcon’ hanger. That was something Dash had picked up on. She recalled when they escaped the Shadowbolts from Canterlot, how she heard of flying machines chasing after them. That had to be the Falcons Moon was talking about. It was too bad they were rushing to escape before Moon’s delayed alarm, she would like to get a better look at the Falcons and—

Dash’s eyes widened as her heart suddenly throbbed with a sudden jolt.

“AHHHH!!!!” She yelped as her stride buckled, the front of her hooves scraping against the floor before she fell face first and tumbled to a halt. The rest of the group skidded to a stop as Dash fell, staring towards her with worried eyes. “AGH! AH! S-SOARIN!” Dash cringed and twitched in pain as her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.

Without hesitating for a moment, Fire quickly pointed towards her.

“PICK HER UP! LET’S GO!” he ordered sharply before turning and continuing, nearly yanking Wave from Lightning’s grip as they continued.

“I’ll carry her!” Playbitz decided as he stepped up and crouched down to grab her arm. Shine Struck and Squall quickly moved to the other side of Dash to help pushed her up onto Playbitz’s back. The moment she was up, they charged after squad three, catching up behind as they turned down the third hallway on the right, as Moon had directed.

“There!” Fire yelled, his eyes locking on a stairwell on the left that sat at the end of the new hallway. “Go! Go!” he yelled as they forged ahead. There were three hallways between them and the stairs. All they had to do was keep moving and they would be well on their way.

Dash’s breaths were quick and painful. She was gasping and panting, feeling light-headed as she bounced up and down on Playbitz back. Something was wrong with Soarin. At first she wasn’t sure, but now… this was one of the worst reactions she had had.

“Almost there! Hang in there!” Playbitz called back to Dash as he and the rest followed behind squad three. They had passed two of the hallways, just on more and it was a straight shot to the stairs…

But then Fire and Lightning both came to abrupt halt, Misty and Surprise nearly running directly into them from behind. Zero and Foxtrot put on the breaks, all skidding to a stop.

“Now that was a good show!” a deranged voice came from the hallway.

Ruin stepped around the corner while looking up at the ceiling, his smile so wide it almost devoured his chin.

“Ahhhhhh, there’s nothing QUITE like the sound of a helpless voice screaming out in pain while being beaten to a bloody pul—” Ruin looked down. He stopped mid-step and stared directly at the group. His smile faded to a completely blank expression as he glanced back and forth, his face scrunching while lifting an eyebrow when he saw Wave Chill supported by the Streak twins.

Everypony flinched as alarm claxons suddenly blared out from every direction from speakers in the corners of the ceiling.

“INTRUDER ALERT!” Moon’s voice blared over the speakers. “ANY AND ALL SHADOWBOLTS IN THE FORTRESS BE ADVISED, WE HAVE BEEN INFILTRATED AND A PRISONER HAS BEEN SEIZED! IF YOU SEE ANY SUSPICIOUS PONIES, DETAIN THEM IMMEDIATELY!”

Ruin casually looked up at the ceiling as he listened to the broadcast before blinking and looking back down. He snickered as a sneer appeared on his face.

“Well, well, welly, welly, wellington… aren’t I the lucky pony to be in the right place at the right time! Way ahead of ya Moony-Moon! Oh ho ho ho!!!!” he cackled as his crystals sprang up and rotated around him.

Fire made two very harsh motions with his free hoof. He and Lightning shifted backwards as Surprise and Misty Fly sprang over the top of them and dove towards Ruin, hooves pulled back and ready to strike.

“OH, WHAT FUN!” Ruin took a step back, his crystals shining brightly as two clones shot out at Surprise and Misty. The two reacted quickly, striking the clones right in the sweet spot on the forehead. They braced themselves flying forward through the following clone explosions before refocusing on Ruin, but they both gasped. “CATCH!” Ruin bounced his eyebrows as more small magic spheres than they could count were hovering around him.

Misty pulled up and shielded herself as the barrage flung at them, but Surprise twisted and pitched down, sliding on her hooves on the ground beneath the spheres.

“LOOK OUT!” Fire yelled as he and Lightning both dropped Wave and stepped in front of him. They tried to deflect the incoming spheres, but they were quickly overwhelmed and forced to just shield themselves. Playbitz dropped down with Swift, Squall, and Twister behind him as Shine hovered in front of them and knocked away any that got past the Streak twins.

“NO GO, PAL!” Surprise called out as she hopped up right in front of Ruin. His smile grew wider as she thrust her hoof towards him, his eyes glowing behind his goggles.

“HA!” Ruin guffawed as he fired magic beams from his eyes.

“Whoops!” Surprise thrust her wings down, catapulting herself in a quick arc over Ruin and back flipping. “I got—!” Surprise blinked as she landed, Ruin was no longer in front of her.

“Sorry babe,” Ruin’s voice came from behind her. “But ain’t nopony got me!”

Surprise turned, but the moment she faced him, Ruin grabbed her by the neck and hoisted her up.

“GAH!” she grunted as he began to spin around.

“And a-one!” Ruin spun once. “And a-two!” he spun again as Misty got up and launched towards him to help Surprise. “And a—” he suddenly teleported the moment before Misty reached him, placing him five yards further back than he was. “THREE!” he launched Surprise at Misty, the two colliding and tumbling to the ground. “Have another round on me!” he gleefully exclaimed as his crystals spun around him violently, glowing intensely as an endless barrage of spheres fired from them and danced about in random patterns. Fire stepped forward, placing himself in front of Misty and Surprise as Lightning shielded Wave.

“AHHHH!!!”

“GAAAHHH!!”

The twins cried out as they took the hits, forcing them both down to the floor as they continued to get peppered. Behind them, Shine was unable to counter the spheres as they kept coming and coming, Ruin’s rate of fire nearly doubling as he pressured them.

“HOOPLA! HOOPLA! AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Ruin fell over on his back laughing as his crystals pounded and pounded the Wonderbolts, none of them even getting a moment to stand up or fight back.

Dash covered her head with her hooves. Her heart had calmed down a little, but now they were being completely and utterly beaten by… a single Shadowbolt? Then again she remembered this one… Ruin. Ruin was the one who took out Fleetfoot by himself. Frankly, he beat the hell out of her, so much so that Fleetfoot was shaking with fear once they pulled her away.

Now here he was keeping them all at bay… ten of them, with little effort. His power was terrifying!

Eventually Ruin let up, the barrage ceasing. His crystal floated back over to him, pink steam rising from the tops. He bunched them together and casually blew on them, the smoke dissipating.

“Hmph… well then,” he shrugged. “You know, I admit. Very clever, very impressive. I mean…” he started walking towards them as the Wonderbolts all struggled on the floor, groaning and cringing in pain as they tried to regain themselves. “I wanted SOOOOOOOO badly to join that mess you’ve made outside, but I was busy with this tough stallion,” he stopped in front of Wave and leaned down. Wave’s eyes opened and instantly filled with fear. Wave started trying desperately to inch away. “Priorities, priorities…” Ruin continued as he kept shifting, not allowing Wave to put any space between them. He stood back up and shrugged again. “Eh, I think I made the right choice, honestly. I bet all I missed were some fancy fireworks and Blade making an ass of himself… again.” He glanced around at the Wonderbolts still struggling. “Now then, let’s see who else has landed riiiiiiiiiiiight in Uncle Ruin’s lap…”

The Wonderbolts all yelped as a sudden shockwave fired forth from Ruin’s crystals, pushing them all along the floor before lifting them up and pressing them against the wall. Wave cried out in pain as the rest grunted and gasped, struggling, but unable to move under the pressure of the magic. As their bodies were held against the wall, their colors began to fade.

Slowly, their color swaps all disappeared. When their colors had fully returned to normal, the magic ceased and they all fell to the floor. That wasn’t all… the wave of magic had done something. None of them could find the strength to stand. Small blips of pink magic swirled around them, their nerves stinging every time they tried to force themselves to their hooves.

“Oh?” Ruin pulled his goggles off. “OH HOOOOO! Do I spy… with my leeeeeettle itty bitty eyes…” he slid up to Fire Streak, looking between him, Lightning, Surprise, and Misty Fly. “Top Elite Squad Three?!” he stood up on his hind legs and placed one hoof on his chest and the other on his head as if he was about to faint. “My, my, my… I simply CAN’T believe it! AHHHHHAHAHA!” he fell backwards, but stopped before touching the ground, a pink glow surrounding him before he tipped back up and fell back down to his hooves. “Hmmm…” he looked around at the rest. “A few no name straggler tagalongs as well, huh?” he commented as he looked at Foxtrot and Zero.

Dash tried to turn over as Squall growled beside her. The two were trying to get to their hooves, but their bodies burned with pain upon every attempt. Their bodies weren’t cooperating. Whatever Ruin’s magic burst had done… it had effectively incapacitated them all… how was that possible?

“Hmmmmmmm…?” Ruin suddenly hummed.

Dash’s eyes widened when she saw Ruin staring directly at her. His icy stare gave her chills as he turned square to her and started slowly tip-hoofing towards her.

“Oh…?” his eyes grew wider as he slowly approached her. “Oh? Oh? OH?! OH?!” he threw his goggles to the floor and stood directly before her.

Dash yelped, flinching as Ruin reached down and yanked her goggles off, the strap snapping as he flung them away. She shut her eyes as he reached down again, grabbing the mask of her Shadowbolt uniform and ripping it right off of her face. Dash dared not open her eyes as she felt Ruin’s hoof grab her by the chin and force her head up.

“You, open your eyes!” he demanded, but Dash kept them shut. “OPEN THEM NOW!!!!!” Ruin yelled, his voice suddenly deepening into a tone that was one step short of demonic.

Dash gritted her teeth and slowly opened her eyes, her thoughts racing as she stared up into the glare of Ruin. When their eyes locked, Ruin’s face slowly turned into a very, very creepy smile.

“Well I’ll be…” his smile kept growing wider and wider. “Hearth’s Warming came early! Not only did you idiots drop me four of your best…”

Dash felt all of the air leave her lungs, her heart beating faster as Ruin inched his face closer to her. Ruin slowly closed his eyes… and when he opened them back up, the whites of his eyes had turned black and his pupils were small, white dots.

“THEY ALSO GAVE ME THE ONE CONNECTED TO SOARIN…” his voice had a ghostly echo in the back of it that made Dash go pale.

She wanted to gasp, but she couldn’t even manage that. Forget Nightshade… she was creepy, but this? What was this?!

A low hiss escaped the back of Ruin’s throat as his he ran his tongue over the lower row of his unnerving smile. The only noise Dash could muster was a high pitched, frail squeak.

But suddenly… Ruin blinked, his eyes returning to normal as his ears turned back and forth.

“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…” a noise was coming from nearby.

“What in the hell is that…” Ruin trailed off as he slowly looked to his left. His eyes snapped open and his jaw dropped as he released Dash, her head falling back down to her hooves. She landed facing the direction that Ruin had turned to… and saw what had caught his attention.

The noise was coming from Twister, who was lying on his side, facing the wall beside them. Unlike the rest of them, there was no sign of Ruin’s strange magic affecting him. Twister slowly began to turn over as he continued to make the noise.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…” he paused when he rolled onto his back, sharply inhaling for five seconds before starting again. “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…” he kept going until he had completely rolled over, facing Dash and Ruin. “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey there!” He pulled his goggles off and bounced his eyebrows at Ruin. “FRIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNND!”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” Ruin launched from his spot, hitting his head against the ceiling before crashing back to the floor. He quickly rolled back onto his hooves and glared fiercely at Twister. “GAH! NO! NOT YOU!!!!!

Twister sprang up with a loud SPROING and shifted right up, stopping an inch from Ruin’s face.

“YES ME!” he shouted cheerfully as his pupils rolled in circles around his eyes.

Without wasting a moment, Ruin activated his crystals, creating several of his small magic spheres that he fired at Twister, point blank. They all slammed into Twister, the ensuing explosions knocking Ruin backwards. He slid to a stop and shook his head out.

“Hey, guess what?” Twister’s voice came from behind Ruin.

NO.” Ruin appeared behind Twister and grabbed him by the top of the head. “I’m NOT playing your game this time!” he yelled as he thrust Twister’s head to the floor as hard as he could. Twister’s head hit the floor, but bounced as if it were made of rubber. “Gah!” Ruin yelped as his arm was yanked up and backwards, eventually letting go as Twister landed on his back.

“RIDE ‘EM COWBOY!” Twister hooted as he reached back and spanked Ruin’s plot several times. Ruin disappeared in a flash of pink light, Twister falling face first while uttering a whoopee cushion cheer. Ruin reappeared several yards away with multiple spheres at the ready. He launched them all towards Twister, scoring direct hits with all of them.

“I think you got him!” Twister said from beside Ruin, giving him a pat on the back. Ruin turned and threw a punch directly into Twister’s face, but upon hitting it, a loud metallic CLANG rang out through the halls. Ruin pulled his hoof back in pain.

YYYEEEEEEOOOOWWWW!!!” he cried out as he shook his hoof out and blew on it.

Twister reached up and pulled off a metallic mask of his own face.

“THE OLD MY FACE NOT REALLY MY FACE TRICK!” he pounded his other hoof against his chest. “WORKS EVERY TIME!” He bounced back and forth as the mask liquefied and spilled out of his hooves. Ruin growled and turned towards Twister, but he was gone.

An instant later, Twister popped up right in front of Ruin’s face. Before Ruin could react, Twister clamped his hooves over Ruin’s mouth.

“Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…” Twister hushed him before leaning towards Ruin’s ears. “So…” he whispered. “I entered ten puns into a contest to see which one would win…”

Twister pulled back and stared at Ruin with an incredibly blank expression on his face. He paused for at least twenty seconds while slowly lowering to the floor and disappearing. Before Ruin could do anything, Twister suddenly zipped in from the left with his eyes wide and a silly look on his face.

“NO PUN IN TEN DID!” Twister headbutted Ruin, sending him tumbling to the floor.

“RRRRGGHHH!!!!” Ruin growled and looked up from the floor, only to see a plate of cookies being held down to him by Twister.

“Snickerdoodle?” Twister asked with a cookie over each eye, a hole cut in both of them so he could see through.

Without a word, Ruin teleported again, appearing back by the Wonderbolts. As Twister turned and faced him, Ruin reached down and grabbed Squall by the neck.

“GGRRHHH!!” Squall grunted in pain as Ruin forced him into the air and hovered one of his crystals right beside him.

“JUST KEEP TRYING THIS SHIT WITH ME YOU LUNATIC!!!!” Ruin roared towards Twister, sounding like a desperate, cornered, rabid animal as he tightened his grip around Squall’s neck and the crystal began to glow. “KEEP IT UP AND I’LL KILL HIM!” his eyes turned black again. “I MEAN IT! I’LL SNUFF HIM OUT RIGHT HERE!” his voice gained the freakish echo again.

But then Ruin blinked, his eyes returning to normal as he stared towards Twister. Twister had not made any moves towards him. Instead Twister was holding two coffee pots. One pot was labeled ‘regular’ and the other ‘decaf.’ Twister scrunched his face and put on a ridiculously hard, angry expression as he began tipping the ‘regular’ pot towards the ‘decaf’ pot.

“I’LL DO IT!” Twister yelled in a low gruff voice as he tipped the pots closer. “I SWEAR I’LL DO IT! DON’T TEST ME! NOPONY WANTS THIS, BUT YOU’RE PUSHING ME!”

Ruin’s face turned into a flat glare. Twister eventually tipped the ‘regular’ pot over, the contents slowly spilling out into the other.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!” Twister cried out in agony, slowly lowering to the ground as he continued to pour the regular coffee into the decaf. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!?! YOU MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS HURTS ME MORE THAN IT HURTS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“I literally have no words…” Ruin slowly shook his head, his hoof still clamped around Squall’s neck. He blinked… and Twister was suddenly right next to him, holding a cup of coffee while wrapped in a large blanket.

“Mmmm…” Twister hummed as he smelled the coffee. “A petite, gentle mix of uncontrollable jitters and falling asleep at the office…” he thrust his hoof forward and splashed the hot coffee right into Ruin’s face.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” Ruin cried out as he dropped Squall and threw his hooves to his face.

“LESS-SPRESS-OHHHH!!!” Twister yelled out as he swung and broke the coffee mug over Ruin’s head, knocking him flat to the floor right beside Dash. Ruin twitched and writhed on the floor as the scalding liquid dripped from his face, but when he removed his hooves from his eyes, he saw Twister laying on the floor right beside him. “Sir, I think you need to slow down… there’s enough caffeine in here to drop a pack of timberwolves and one clown!”

“Grrrphrgphrphgphr!” Ruin released a series of strange grunting and growling noises as he shimmied his body away and got to his hooves, his face stained by the coffee. “I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE YOU!” he yelled while stomping his hooves. “Where the hell did the Wonderbolts find you!? Did they pull you out of rainbow factory pipe or something?!”

Twister only smiled cheekily in response, lying on his stomach as he twiddled his back hooves and sleeping a yo-yo… upwards. Ruin coughed and bobbed his head shaking his mane out and whipping his face some more as he continued to rant.

“I’ve seen drunken ponies that are more coherent than you! Do you even get oxygen to your brain?!” Ruin sounded like he was losing his mind. His eyes were twitching and his pupils darting about, as he kept talking and asking strange questions. “What’s your blood alcohol content? Pure hard cider?”

“Yak Daniel’s, actually,” Twister corrected as the yo-yo broke from the string, fired forward and ricocheted right off of Ruin’s forehead.

“THAT’S IT!” Ruin yelled at the top of his lungs as a trickle of blood ran down his face. “YOU DIE! DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!” A large pink aura erupted around him and his crystals shined so brightly that it was hard to look directly at them. “I’LL KILL YOU! KILL KILL KILL YOU YOU YOU!!!!!!”

The Wonderbolts all braced themselves as Ruin’s magic released an intense wave of energy that rushed against them. Just the power buildup alone caused powerful shocks.

Twister rolled over and faced Dash. He reached a mug of cider towards her.

“Yo, Bae… Hold my cider, I got this,” he winked at her before somehow launching from his position and right up to Ruin. Ruin’s eyes widened, his magic aura growing even larger as Twister appeared in front of him.

“SON OF A—” Ruin tried to push back, but Twister was already upon him… wearing a shirt with a mustard bottle on it. He held out a shirt with a ketchup bottle on it towards Ruin.

“WEAR THIS AND LIE ON A BUN WITH ME! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE?!”

The two clashed. Twister pulled Ruin down to the ground. The two began rolling away down the hallway Ruin came from, Ruin swearing up a storm as his crystals followed after the tumbling pair.

Squall blinked as the small pulses of magic around him faded. He felt his strength return and he pushed himself up.

“Everypony! Come on!” he yelled as he reached down and started helping Dash up. Fire Streak finally let go of Misty and looked up, realizing he could move again. He caught a glimpse of Twister and Ruin tumbling away before he also forced himself up.

“Up! Up! Let’s go!” he called back as everypony else found their strength.

Dash stood up, her eyes widened in horror. Squad Three was up and moving again with Lightning and Fire carrying Wave. The others were about to follow behind…

But what about…

“TWISTER!!!” Dash cried out. Twister had rolled away with Ruin! She tried moving towards the hallway, but Squall caught her by the arm. “LET GO! WE HAVE TO HELP TWISTER!” Dash demanded. Squall shook his head.

“Dash! Come on!” he tried to persuade her as squad three stopped and turned to look at her. Fire was about to yell at her, but he perked up, looking over the top to see several Shadowbolts turning the corner from the other side of the hallway and heading right for them.

“Incoming!” Fire yelled. “We have to move!”

“NO!” Dash tried to rip free from Squall. “I’M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT TWISTER!” she screamed at all of them. Squall growled, looking towards Playbitz, Shine, and Swift.

“Dammit! Guys! Help me here!” he yelled at the three. Without a single protest, Squad Zero stepped over and all grabbed onto Dash, pulling her along as they moved up behind Squad Three.

“TWISTER! TWISTEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!” Dash called out desperately, but as they neared the stairs, she looked back and saw the Shadowbolts closing in. She gritted her teeth and forced herself free from those dragging her along, taking control of herself as they caught up to squad three.

There was nothing they could do. Twister was giving them a chance to escape… they had to take it. No matter how hard it was to do. Ruin had trapped them, his magic keeping them from moving. Had Twister not intervened, the Shadowbolts would have had ten new prisoners.

The group thundered down the winding stairs, hoping their escape route would be clear when they reached the bottom. Moon said the stairs would take them to a hangar…

But when they go to the bottom, they found themselves in another hallway that reached both left and right.

“Oh, for the love of…” Fire Streak growled as everypony frantically looked left and right. “He said this would be a hangar!”

“Did we take a wrong turn?!” Surprise asked as she frantically looked to Fire.

“GUYS!” Swift yelled behind them as he looked back up the stairwell. “We gotta move! They’re right behind us!” he reminded them as the Shadowbolts in pursuit galloped down the stairs after them.

“Oh!” Fire quickly shifted, placing all of the weight from Wave on his left Shoulder as he reached up and flipped the switch on his goggles, but the X-ray effect didn’t activate. “Blasted, technology!” he growled as he smacked the side of the goggles so hard in frustration that he almost hit himself right in the face. His frustration proved to help, the hit caused the goggle lenses to buzz, followed by the X-ray tech blipping on. “Oh, well then,” Fire quickly looked back and forth, his eyes stopping on the second hallway to the right. Every other door seemed to lead into some sort of viewing room or control room, but the second hallway on the right was a straight flight of stairs that ended in a VERY large room… that had a lot of large, oddly shaped objects in it. “There!” he yelled, flipping the X-ray function off before he and the rest of the group made their way to the right.

Surprise glided ahead and peered into the door, quickly turning and beckoning them all.

“Yep! This is it all right!” she confirmed before diving through the door.

Dash and Squall kept pace, bringing up the rear as they neared the door. She glanced back, as she had several times already. Part of her kept telling herself that she might have a chance to turn around and help Twister, but her common sense knew better. There were several Shadowbolts in pursuit of them now, more than there had been initially as new groups appeared from the hallways behind those who had just come down the stairs. There were at least fifteen following them now. Apparently they had greater numbers than they anticipated, but it made sense. They had faced a large number in force in the past… but there was no doubt it took a good number of them to keep the Fortress running.

Dash glanced at Squall briefly, who had simply faced forward the whole time.

She was angry with him… She wasn’t focused on him at the moment, but it was lingering. She knew there was no way that they could have assisted Twister, but Squall didn’t even try, much less suggest they do. He was the first to call for their advance without him. She knew Squall wasn’t the biggest fan of Twister, but she liked to think he at least respected him as a squadmate…

Dash didn’t have time to dwell on it. Squall’s reasons were his own. She’d ask him later. She kept her mind on task as they brought up the rear, turning into doorway and gliding down the stairs.

“Whoa!” Dash exclaimed as she touched down at the bottom of the stairs, both she and Squall taking a moment to gawk at the sight before them.

The enormous room they had emerged in could indeed be described as a ‘hangar’. It was very large, not quite as large as the engine room they discovered beneath the Wonderbolt compound, but its spaciousness reminded her of it. Instead of a dip into machinery though, it was a flat floor that was at least fifty yards in length to the other side and just as wide. They could see the massive hangar door on the other side, but they had to look past several impressive looking contraptions.

Each one of them was dark grey and triangular in shape with extended wings off the back tips. Each of them had three large crystals fixed on the back of them all side by side and two small, but powerful looking propellers extending upward from the base of the wing extensions. They looked to be about twenty yards wide, sitting two by two in the hangar with eight of them total reaching towards the hangar doors. They looked large enough to hold at least seven or eight ponies, but through the large cockpit window on top there appeared to be four stations.

These had to be the Falcons!

They fit the exact descriptions Dash had heard of what attacked them during the escape from Canterlot. But neither she, nor any of them had time to dawdle. They had to get the door open and take flight. If they could make it outside and into the swarm outside, they were basically home free. At that point it would just be about losing the Shadowbolts in the blizzard. Hopefully the Renegades would be able to effectively cover their escape.

“He said the controls were somewhere around the door!” Fire reminded them as they made it halfway across the hangar. “Spread out and find them, quickly!” he ordered. Surprise shot up and pumped her wings, Misty following right behind as soon as Fire made a few wing signals towards her. The two mares scanned the large hangar door from wall to wall as Fire and Lightning set Wave down in front of it. Shine, Swift, Playbitz, Squall, and Dash all slid to a halt behind them, turning around to see the Shadowbolts emerging into the hangar. They were outnumbered two to one, with more Shadowbolts likely on the way. Wherever they had all been during the initial infiltration, Moon’s alarm certainly sprung them all into action. Running into Ruin had severely complicated their escape plans.

“We’ve got company!” Squall yelled to Fire Streak as he and Dash turned to face the quickly approaching Shadowbolts. “Hurry up back there will ya?!” he added.

“You wanna come up here and find it?!” Surprise yelled down as she shot by, she and Misty both frantically looking for the controls mentioned by Moon.

“Bro, he said by the door right?!” Lightning asked as he and Fire remained beside Wave.

“Yes!” Fire quickly replied as he scanned around the door, Misty and Surprise still frantically zipping around. “That’s exactly what he—” Fire’s eyes widened as he turned and looked back towards the incoming Shadowbolts. He specifically looked past them. Back by the door they came through at the bottom of the stairs, looked like a large control station. “Oh for the love of…” Fire gritted his teeth. “He should have been more specific!” Fire yelled out as he struggled to formulate a plan… which he had roughly three seconds to do before the Shadowbolts reached them.

Luckily for him, however. Dash had been putting thought towards one already, the last piece of which came together when Fire located the control panel.

“Squall! Shine! Swift! Playbitz!” she called to them. “I need a distraction!” she asked. Shine, catching on, didn’t hesitate.

“Squad Zero!” she yelled out. “Lurking Shadow Maneuver!” she ordered. Swift and Playbitz’s ears both stood up.

Playbitz spread his large wings and forced them down, propelling himself way up towards the ceiling with a single flap. Swift ducked low and zipped beneath the nearby Falcons, using their shadows to conceal his quick movements. Shine flew directly at the Shadowbolts, the whole incoming crowd focusing on her, taking their eyes off of Swift and Playbitz.

“COME AT ME!” she yelled in a threatening manner.

Squall didn’t know what this ‘Lurking Shadow Maneuver’ was, but he received an order from Dash, so he rushed forward, trusting that she had a plan. He followed right behind Shine, gritting his teeth as he saw the low-ranking Shadowbolts power up their crystals. But then a shadow appeared on the ground, a shadow with a wide wingspan. Squall looked up to see Playbitz gliding right up against the large, extended light fixture that reached across the entire ceiling.

Then suddenly, as the shadow was cast down on the Shadowbolts, they started taking hits from something invisible? Squall tried to figure out what was going on, but it wasn’t long before Swift appeared, shooting out from the shadow cast by Playbitz, making quick loops, using his agility to dodge strikes before disappearing into the shadow again or beneath a Falcon. Shine and Squall dove into the cacophony of confused Shadowbolts, taking them on as a few of them started aiming and firing magic beams at Playbitz above as well.

That was exactly what Dash needed. It was four against at least twenty. Dash knew their little trick would only keep the Shadowbolts off balance for a few moments… but she only needed ONE moment.

With adrenaline pumping, her focus sharp, and currently enjoying relief from the heart shocks related to Soarin, Dash locked on target and set her hooves. With the thought of Soarin fresh in her mind, she called upon the very first Wonderbolt move she copied, going through the smooth, quick motions of the Sonic Blast-off. Knowing there was no room for a slip-up and boosted by her determination to survive and find Soarin post-escape, Dash flawlessly performed the motions, accelerating from a dead stop to nearly full speed as a loud BANG of a sonic boom echoed from her starting position. The burst of wind from her wake caused the propellers on the surrounding Falcons to rattle as the shockwave rushed by them.

Dash didn’t shift course. She aimed right into the center of the confusion, having purposely timed her launch in a moment where Squall, Shine, and Swift were out of her path. She thrust her hooves forward, slamming them into and knocking out four of the Shadowbolts, sending them reeling and crashing into their comrades. The moment she was clear, Dash dropped down and slammed her hooves against the floor. A loud SCREECH rang out as she pressed her hooves down, the friction generating so much heat that it almost stung.

She wasn’t able to make a full stop, her speed so great that even hitting the breaks as early as possible still caused her path to end with a light THUD against the opposite wall. She didn’t waste a second, pushing off the wall and looking over the control panel full of buttons and levers. Her eyes quickly landed on a large lever on the right end of the panel marked ‘hangar doors’. She yanked the lever back.

“Yipe!” she flinched as loud creaking and clanging began to echo throughout the hangar. She looked up towards the ceiling. Several large spokes, wheels, and gears were turning both on the ceiling and on the wall behind her. Large cables that extended all the way to the hangar door started moving… and with loud, metallic groans the massive door began to nudge upward very slowly. They would only need a small opening to escape, and she could see Fire and Lightning already crouching down to slip beneath it the first chance they got.

“Yes!” Dash cheered. “OW!” she yelped as she shook her hooves. Not only were they hot from her rough stop along the floor, but it had put a lot of strain on her wrist joints. She looked up to see five Shadowbolts shooting towards her, the rest still engaged with Squall and Squad Zero… who were now backing off. Squall had his eyes fixed on Dash, but he had no openings to assist.

Dash gulped as the five Shadowbolts closed in on her. Her initial plan was to also use the Sonic Blast-off to get back, plowing through any enemies that followed her. But with her hooves hot to the touch and her joints twitching from the uncomfortable stop… there was absolutely no way she’d be able to pull off the maneuver again without falling flat on her face.

“SHAAAAAA-BAM!” Surprise’s voice suddenly came from the right as she fired in from the side and completely decked one of the Shadowbolts, driving him out of his flight path and out of the picture. The Shadowbolts flinched in surprise, but kept on course towards Dash… only to come to an abrupt halt as Misty Fly dropped down from above and set herself in front of Dash. The Shadowbolts hesitated, as if realizing who had just dropped in. They shifted their strategy and spread out before flanking Misty and closing in.

Dash looked back and forth as the four closed in on Misty, trying to focus through the pain in her hooves, but Misty simply looked over her shoulder at Dash and flashed her a bright smile… before winking.

Dash’s eyes widened as Misty softly shut her eyes and spread her wings, flaring the feather tips out.

Her wing feathers visibly twitched.

She shifted left and swung her right arm around, clotheslining the first Shadowbolt to reach her. The stallion backflipped while flying forward, running headfirst into the wall beside Dash.

Misty’s wings twitched, making a soft fluttering noise.

She continued in the swinging motion, turning it into a punch to the face of the second Shadowbolt, following up with three more rapid punches to the mare’s chest.

Misty’s wings twitched again.

She grabbed the staggered mare and swung her around, tossing her directly into the face of a second stallion. The two Shadowbolts grunted in pain as they tangled and crashed.

Misty’s wings twitched once more.

She bucked her legs backwards, striking the last Shadowbolt in the upper chest. The stallion choked and coughed, his speed heavily decreasing as his hooves went to his neck. Misty turned and swung a hard right hook into his face, spinning him in a full circle. He shook his head and tried to ready himself, but Misty stepped forward and unloaded seven rapid blows. Three to the chest with enough force to push him back onto his hind legs and four more to his stomach once he was up. Misty hopped up and finished with a strong headbutt that knocked the stallion right off his hooves and onto his back.

Dash stood with her jaw nearly unhinged as Misty stood before her, eyes still closed.

Her wings suddenly twitched as a beam of magic shot towards her from directly behind. She made a quick, full turn and flicked her wrist at it, deflecting the beam before launching upward, grabbing the Shadowbolt mare that had snuck up on them and dropping to the floor, pile driving the mare to the ground.

Misty bounced up and landed a yard from Dash. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before opening her eyes and flashing her cute smile at Dash as the five Shadowbolts all rolled around on the ground, groaning in pain as their crystals flickered.

“Uh…” Dash had no words, not that Misty would hear any of them had she some. Then her ears perked up.


“You’ve seen it used as a primary fighting technique.”

“I have…?”

“It’s something a lot of the elite Wonderbolts have trained, but there’s one of us who uses it better than all of us.”

“Who?”

“Figure it out.”

“I should have seen that coming…”


Dash could almost hear Silver laughing at her as she realized how obvious it was. He was right… she had seen it up close and personal, but she somehow had not made the connection to… gee, only one of her most important idols.

Duh… Rainbow Dash… Silver was talking about Misty Fly. Seeing it so up close also gave her a visual of how it worked. The wings… using the wing tips to sense air movement.

“Awareness…” Dash said to herself with a chuckle as Misty quickly looked over her shoulder. “Using the wings… that’s what I was missing…”

She let go of her thoughts as Misty suddenly reached back and grabbed her by the arm. Dash looked up as Misty made a sharp head motion towards the hangar doors. The Streak twins were already out and flying while carrying Wave. Surprise was working with Swift to confuse the remaining Shadowbolts as Shine, Playbitz and Squall glided towards the exit, picking up speed.

Dash quickly nodded in response, following right behind Misty as the two lifted off and pumped their wings hard, shooting past Swift and Surprise, who brought up the rear the moment they had a chance to break free.

Dash felt a blast of wind hit her face as she emerged, she, Misty, Surprise, and Swift all catching up to the rest as they pulled away from the Shadowbolt fortress. As they caught up, Dash quickly realized that they weren’t going very fast, immediately linking it to the fact that the Streak twins had a passenger. Carrying Wave wasn’t slowing them down too much… but…

Dash turned around as they pulled away from the fortress, and as she suspected. They were being followed. However, only five Shadowbolts were in pursuit? Not all of them were beaten down, where were the rest?

“Uh oh…” Dash blinked as she flew, her eyes still fixed over her shoulder. Something was happening in the hangar. Several pink lights were appearing within… very bright pink lights. The groups was pulling away, but she could hear a loud whirring sound coming from the hangar. “Fire!” Dash yelled as she looked back forward. “We have a problem!”

---To be Continued---

Author's Note:

Art by: Foxenawolf

Oh dear... something is on their tail... (gee i wonder what)

And double oh dear... what's gonna happen to Twister? :rainbowderp: Especially after that show he put on... :pinkiecrazy: It would seem there are major gaps in skill amongst the Shadowbolt commanders... Ruin, being one of frightening skill... but it looks like the Wonderbolts have a single trump card against him, the only pony CRAZIER than him :rainbowwild:

Oh... and lets all take a moment to remember how much of a badass Misty Fly is :pinkiegasp:


Sorry for the cut off in the middle of the action, but like i said in my blog post, the original chapter was split in two, and i have 13k words already written for chapter 118, meaning it's really close to being complete and you can expect a REALLY fast update on the horizon.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! :eeyup:

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