Piercing the Heavens

by Calm Wind

Chapter 147: The Real Enemy...? (part 1)

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 147: The Real Enemy…? (Part 1)

---

There was no word Rainbow Dash could find that described the feeling coursing through her right now. There was no way to characterize it, no way to really detail how it felt. Nothing felt the way it should. She was alive, but didn’t feel like she was. Her body was under her control, but she felt like she could barely move. Her body felt heavy, like every ounce of her strength had been drained right out of her.

Worst of all, it felt like her thoughts were not entirely under control. No matter where she looked or where she tried to focus, part of her mind was locked on replay, constantly seeing the moment Soarin was torn away from her and transformed into the monstrosity that now ran free out there somewhere.

Perhaps there was one word that could be used to describe it, though it was the most general word possible.

Wrong.

Everything just felt wrong and she had no idea what to do about it. The feeling filling her body, the feeling of having zero strength and barely able to move her own limbs without any numbness or pain, it was so confusing and frightening. She felt like a dead mare walking.

Was this part of her connection with Soarin? Was this part of everything Discord told them a while back? She never once dared to put thought to what it would feel like to be killed through a soul connection, but she was willing to bet she was hanging on a thin thread near it right now, teetering on the edge.

Soarin was out there, and he was clearly alive, but if she felt like this then he had to be just barely hanging on… and part of her was in there with him.

Was she going to die?

The thought passed through her head again as it had several times in between the traumatic flashbacks to Soarin’s possession. She had no control over that either.

She was alive, and that meant Soarin was alive… but how much longer could he hold on? Aside from the moment he was right beside her with his hoof clamped in hers, it looked like he had no influence on the power controlling his body.

What was going to happen to them? She felt absolutely powerless.

“Rainbow Dash… Rainbow Dash, honey, look at me.”

Dash blinked, her eyelids struggling to complete the motion as she slowly realized there was a pair of little hooves lightly pressed to her cheeks.

“Dash, please.”

Dash recognized the voice as it worked its way through her ears and fought to grab her attention. She slowly tipped her head down, her eyes eventually landing upon the face of Little Star.

She had her mask and goggles pulled down around her neck, standing on her hind legs as she reached for Dash and held her face close to hers. She wore a look of incredible worry, her motherly tendencies coming out in full force as Dash continued to sit and stare into a space like an empty husk of her usual self.

“Please say something, Dash,” Star asked quietly as she rubbed one of her hooves up and down Dash’s cheek gently.

Dash heard the request loud and clear, but she found she could barely focus on it.

“Ahhh…” Dash’s voice squeaked as her lips parted and she tried to speak, but she could barely form any words.

Dash swallowed and twitched as she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. She wanted to reply, but it was so hard. Everything was so hard to do. She had so little control over herself.

“St…Star…” Dash managed to say as she forced the word out, gasping right after and taking a few heaving breaths.

“Yes, it’s me… we’re all here,” she spoke very quietly.

“All…?” Dash managed to say as she cringed and looked up a little. Storm and Squall were both sitting behind her. They looked battered and beaten from their injuries, but they were sitting up and were focused on her. They showed varying levels of concern. Storm looked nearly just as worried as Star as he looked on from behind. Squall showed less, but he was likely more worried than Storm, just not showing it in full.

Then Dash realized that she was, in fact, sitting back slightly against something soft. She immediately concluded that it was Matteo as she tried to look up and see. Her head began to spin as she looked straight upward, so she couldn’t hold the position long, but she looked just long enough to see a beak and pair of eagle eyes looking down towards her.

“Nnngh…” Dash winced, her ears flopping to the sides of her head as a noise likened to a swirling wind filled her head her body shaking as the sudden rush of nausea almost made her vomit.

“Easy… easy Dash…” Star continued to soothe her as she moved her hooves to Dash’s shoulders and applied gentle pressure.

Dash slowly opened her eyes as she rocked forward and backwards, her jaw hanging slightly agape as she took weak breaths. Squall visibly moved closer, but his expression remained the same, almost a little forced as if he didn’t want Dash to notice his reaction out of concern.

“Dash talk to me…” Star suddenly encouraged. “What are you feeling? What hurts?” Star threw out the questions, hoping to get any sort of information on her status.

“S…” Dash’s voice cracked as she tried to speak. “Soarin…” she said the only word that was on her mind.

Star blinked and glanced over her shoulder at Squall and Storm. Storm bit his lower lip and exhaled. Squall just looked away the moment Star turned.

“Do you want me to get Bliss?” Star asked, returning her focus to Dash, trying to find something to help. She could tell there was something internal, something to do with Soarin that they had no control over, but Dash was physically hurt too. “Does anything else hurt?”

“Ah…” Dash slammed her eyes shut, trying as hard as she could to focus her thoughts. Nothing in her head was lining up correctly, but she felt like she was slowly putting something together. “Ow…” she cringed as she did her best to focus on Star’s question.

Her body did hurt. Her brain was just not registering the pain as much as it should.

“That’s enough,” Matteo suddenly spoke from behind her. Star’s ears pointed straight up as she looked up at Matteo with extremely wide eyes. But Matteo only shook his head as he gently placed his talons on one of Dash’s shoulders. “She is struggling to gather herself. Let’s just keep her comfortable until she’s ready.”

Little Star frowned and released her hooves from Dash, her ears drooping as far down as her head allowed as she sat down and slid back. She really wanted to help, but Matteo was right, Dash was having a hard enough time seeing and thinking straight. She needed some time to sort out the hurricane in her head while also trying to find some strength in her body… if there was any left.

Squall exhaled as he watched Little Star plop down on the floor and hang her head. He started reaching for her, but flinched as Matteo suddenly looked up abruptly. Both Squall and Storm saw his eyes widen a little and both turned around.

“Ah!” Storm and Squall both turned and tried to sit up straight, but both regretted it as their nerves sent shocks through them, the pain and soreness catching up to them.

“At ease.”

The two of them took instantly relaxed, or at least tried to as they looked up… and right into the eyes of Spitfire standing before them. Her voice caused Star to briefly snap out of it as well as she turned around and faced her.

Spitfire looked them over, her eyes passing over them several times as she lifted an eyebrow.

“Where is…?” she started asking, but stopped. “Never mind,” she quickly cut herself off. Star, Storm, Squall, and Matteo quickly put together what… or who she was about to ask about, but she clearly concluded what their answer would be before even asking. It didn’t matter anyway, Dash had all their focus and worry for the time being.

Spitfire’s eyes landed on Dash and she looked at her for several moments, the other four staying quiet as she examined her. Dash was not looking at her. Her head was tipped down and she was breathing weakly, but steadily.

Dash knew Spitfire was there, but just like with her friends, she had no means of responding. She was slowly regaining some focus, but she was afraid any attempt to speak would completely throw it off, thoughts of Soarin and images of his horrific transformation still running circles in her head, threatening to derail any train of thought. She almost felt like she could see him, every rush of thoughts showing her a faint image of Soarin in pain and struggling as if Soarin’s own thoughts were intermixing with hers.

“Hmmm…” Spitfire hummed to herself, Dash’s friends and squadmates watching as she slowly turned her side to them.

They took note of Spitfire’s demeanor. Her behavior and movements starkly contrasted from nearly everypony else around them. She was standing up straight, holding herself strong, and showing no signs of fracture or weakness. There wasn’t a sliver of defeat in her eyes. It gave off an incredible air of strength. It surprised them. Soarin was one of Spitfire’s lifelong friends. Yet despite what they all just witnessed, she was remaining calm and focused.

“Can she move?” she suddenly asked, motioning to Dash.

They all looked at her. The answer was obvious.

“I don’t think so,” Storm answered first as the rest kept looking at Dash. “At least not on her own…she can barely speak as is.”

Spitfire nodded as Storm explained, returning her eyes to Dash for a moment.

“Can you guys move her?” Spitfire pressed further, looking right at Matteo as he continued to support Dash from behind.

“I can,” Matteo quickly replied with a subtle nod.

“Good,” said Spitfire before Star could protest, Squall placing a hoof on her shoulder and holding her in place to avoid a clash with Spitfire, no matter what her reasons were. “I want you to bring her over here. I’m meeting with all senior leadership right now.”

They all blinked in surprise, glancing at Dash before back at Spitfire.

“She’s very much a part of this, and will likely be the most important piece of the puzzle towards solving this whole debacle,” she spoke sternly, catching them all by surprise. She sounded as if she already had a plan in place. Or was this just part of her remaining on task? “And from this point forward, until further notice, I’m placing her in your care, all four of… five of you, make sure Twister knows when he decides to show up again,” she explained with a straight face, understanding how the stooge of the group operated. “I’ll give you more details later, but don’t take your eyes off her, got it?”

Squall, Star, and Storm all hesitated, not sure what to say, but Matteo, again, answered quickly.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said simply.

Spitfire said nothing more. She just gave them a head motion to follow.

The three ponies turned to Dash and Matteo, perking up when they saw Dash looking up, with her eyes locked on Spitfire.

She didn’t say anything or make any moves, but if they didn’t know any better, she was signaling that she wanted to get moving and do as Spitfire asked.

“Come on, let’s get her over there,” Squall spoke up, reaching forward to help while nodding to Matteo.

The rest joined in as they slowly helped Dash stand, and slowly led her towards the central pillar where the others were gathering.

---

With the last participants of her meeting following behind her, Spitfire strode through the lobby, making her way towards the central pillar where ever member of senior leadership either awaited or was arriving.

Starry Skies and Lighting Dust were both helping Descent move as they joined the group. He was breathing heavily with each step, cringing and grunting raspily as he continued to hold his arm over his stomach as he had earlier. Blazetail and Flashwind were already there, the two of them leaning on each other for support. Luna and P.L. were already present as well, but sat opposite of the rest. P.L. was hunched over but balancing on his own power as he sat. Luna was beside him with a hoof on his shoulder, but with such a soft touch it was a wonder if P.L. could even feel it.

Every available top tier elite Wonderbolt had been there from the moment Spitfire told them earlier. Fleetfoot, Air Mach, Blaze, High Winds, Surprise, Misty Fly, and the Streak twins. They sat near the Renegades, but had formed their own little circle as if they wanted nothing to do with the other two groups at the moment.

And it took a moment to find him... but Discord was there. He was the only one not at least within or around the group, standing off to the side with his back up against the pillar. He looked to be sulking, slumped down as he refused to look at any of them, using his own definition of ‘included’ to show that he had shown up as asked.

Spitfire grunted to herself as she kept moving towards them, Wonderbolts and Renegades alike all turning to look at her as she moved by. Her strong posture and movement had been catching their attention from the moment they returned, but they still looked to her regardless. The situation was grim and unknown with a stench of failure wafting from every corner of the room, but Spitfire continued to push right through it as if it wasn’t even there.

What was in her head? How was she so calm and collected? How was she holding so strong? Nopony could figure it out… but it was probably the one beacon of light in the room penetrating the fog and shadows.

She was their leader, and in the wake of such a pulverizing blow to morale she remained standing while the rest of them fell. Did she know what to do? Could she point them in the right direction? Every pair of eyes that followed her pleaded to know.

And Spitfire could feel all the eyes on her. Every look cut deep, but not deep enough to weigh her down. The weight of what she had just witnessed and gone through was heavy enough. As their leader, she could not afford to let herself be dragged down any further.

She had no plans to lie down and surrender. Not while there were still so many things she didn’t know or had not been told. This whole experience had changed her, or at least her line of thinking. So many things she once thought impossible were happening all around her at an alarming rate. With reality and common thinking as she knew it tossed into the wind, she was going to bite and scratch for every possible action they could take to save Soarin. And until she had a better understanding of the situation… she wasn’t going to take ‘we can’t’ as an answer.

But she knew, especially looking at the top tiers as she approached, that it was going to be an uphill climb. Not just with questioning the gods, but also getting everypony to see it the way she did.

Because with the initial shock of what happened to Soarin wearing off, emotions were flying in wildly different directions. She didn’t take notice of the Renegades, P.L. and Luna, or Discord. As she closed in, she took careful note of her own wingmates.

They were a very mixed bag, judging by their expressions. Just looking at them showed Spitfire several things at once. Fear, anger, confusion, doubt, frustration… all spread among them.

Only one of them stood out differently, and Spitfire definitely noticed.

Misty Fly was the only one looking towards her as she approached, and… she looked ready to go. She was holding herself similarly to Spitfire, waiting dutifully with a hardened expression as if she was simply waiting for orders, ready and eager to go after Soarin just like she was.

The sight made Spitfire grin for a short moment, reminding her that she could always count on Misty Fly no matter what the situation, but now the challenge that remained: the rest of them. As far as she could tell, they were all over the place.

But could she really blame them? Had Spitfire not been guided by the urge to lead her force, she was sure she’d have choked somepony to death by now. Preferably Discord.

She finally reached them… and said nothing. She sat down where all of them could see her, the top tiers opening up their little circle and turning so they could all see her too.

Spitfire glanced over her shoulder and waited patiently for Foxtrot to reach them, Storm out in front as Squall and Little Star stayed beside Matteo carrying Dash upon his back.

As soon as they filled in some empty space within their big circle, Spitfire took a long, hard look at all of them. She took a few quiet breaths as she collected her thoughts…

But she wasn’t the first to speak.

“So…”

Spitfire blinked and glanced towards the top tiers as Lightning Streak broke the silence. The rest of them all looked to Lightning as well as he sat up straight and… glared towards Spitfire. His face was scrunched, sporting a brand of serious that differed from hers. He looked angry and annoyed.

“This sure as hell took a nasty turn, huh?” he said as one of his front hooves grinded lightly against the floor. Spitfire narrowed her eyes slightly as she heard his tone, taking note of the rest at the same time. Surprise and Fleetfoot both tipped away from him as they heard his tone. Blaze wore a similar look of frustration. Air Mach and High Winds seemed indifferent, tired and fatigued. Fire held a stoic expression, looking at his brother carefully as he slowly turned to start translating for Misty. “I mean… seriously… What the hell?” Lightning continued, throwing a hoof out to his side as his lips parted and showed his gritted teeth. “What are we gonna do now? Wasn’t this our mission? Soarin’s magic? This wasn’t supposed to happen, right?!” he raised his voice at the end, the others stealing glances at one another as he his frustration boiled over and vented out. It startled some of them, but his change in usual demeanor did not overshadow the fact that he was asking the questions that were on all their minds. “We’re done, aren’t we?” Lightning continued while shaking his head. “Mission failed?”

“No,” Spitfire immediately replied calmly while locking her eyes on him. “Soarin was only part of it. They want us dead too.”

“That’s not what I gathered,” Lightning did not back down, crossing his arms and snorting. Everypony else remained silent as the two stared each other down. “They were coming after us to get Soarin, right? That’s what they said,” Lightning pointed to both Luna and Descent. “To get what was in him. We were just in the way.”

“Brother…” Fire Streak suddenly stopped translating for Misty and turned, reaching a hoof for Lightning, but Lightning quickly pulled his arm away and snarled at his twin.

“LAY THE HELL OFF, BRO!” he snapped, causing several to flinch. Surprise and Fleetfoot both squeaked behind him and froze as they stared up at the twins.

“Lightning…” Spitfire narrowed her eyes and growled quietly. He quickly turned back to her and threw his hooves out.

“What, you’re gonna tell me I’m wrong? The hell have we been listening to all this time?!” He stood up and stepped towards her, stopping just short of getting in her face as Spitfire calmly stood up to meet his advance. “What are we even fighting for at this point?!”

“We have plenty of reasons to keep going, Lightning,” Spitfire retorted, doing her best to remain collected, but Lightning was already testing her patience. This was not how she wanted this to start and it only got worse as Blaze stood up and forced herself forward, standing beside Lightning and glaring at her equally as hard.

“Like fucking what?!” she yelled as Spitfire sharply turned her eyes to her half-sister. “Oh, I’m sorry!” Blaze began rolling her eyes sarcastically. “I couldn’t quite hear you over the sound of our faces being dragged through shit for the twelve-hundredth time!” she yelled while pointing towards the door, adding her anger to Lightning’s as the two faced down Spitfire. “What are we going to do now? Circle up, hold hooves, and sit through another motivational speech before diving head long into MORE shit?! It SURE worked the past I-don’t-even-know thousand times!”

Spitfire let them vent, waiting for them to get it out as she readied her response, but Fire was not so patient.

“BLAZE! LIGHTNING!” Fire Streak pushed up between the two of them. “Stop this at once!” he demanded, but the moment he stopped between them, Lightning whipped an arm around and grabbed a heavy hooffull of Fire’s suit by the chest and yanked on it while nearly butting heads with him.

“THE HELL ARE YOU KISSING UP FOR?!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. Fire did not hesitate for a moment as he grabbed Lightning’s suit by the chest and pulled on it in a similar manner while actually butting their heads a little.

“YOU THINK YOUR SENSELESS WHINING IS ANY BETTER?!” Fire shot back at him as it looked like the two were seconds from coming to blows.

Spitfire furrowed her brow as she watched the brothers growl at one another, taking quick note of how others were reacting around them. Fleetfoot and Surprise had moved closer together and had shifted slightly away as the two fought. Misty was looking between the two of them and towards others, perhaps looking for someone to translate for her what the hell the two were yelling about. Blaze looked like she was about ready to wallop Fire just as much as Lightning was. High Winds just backed off, unwilling to get between them, and Air Mach was just sitting, not moving or budging despite being near them as he cared more about how beat up he was than the twins fighting.

The optics were not good for those sitting near either, and it wasn’t just for Dash’s friends, the Renegades, and Luna. Ponies all around the lobby began looking in, some curiously, some frightened as the Streak twins, two top tier Wonderbolts bickered angrily and looked ready to take each other’s heads off.

Enough.

Spitfire wasn’t going to stand for this. She understood the anger and frustration, but she didn’t care how much they had been through. It was no excuse for this behavior, not with their rank.

Spitfire quickly lifted a hoof to get Misty’s attention. Misty perked up and looked between the twins towards Spitfire. Spitfire made a non-specific grabbing motion while yanking on her opposite hoof, then pointed at Fire Streak. Misty understood, focusing on Fire as Spitfire moved towards Lightning.

“High Winds!” Spitfire yelled as she started reaching for Lightning. “Sit on Blaze!”

“Kay…” High Winds sleepily replied as she stood up.

“Excuse me, WHAT?!” Blaze reacted as she blinked and glared at Spitfire, but less than a second later, High Winds grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked her back, pushing her to the floor before sitting her plot right down on her. “OW! WHAT THE FUCK, WINDY?!”

“Captain’s orders…” she replied with a yawn as Misty and Spitfire continued towards the Streak twins.

“I OUGHTTA RIP YOUR PROPER LITTLE SKIRT OFF! GROW A FUCKING DICK ALREADY! I KNOW YOU’RE TIRED OF ALL THIS TOO!” Lightning yelled as he and Fire began grappling with each other. Fire snarled as the he tried to rip Lighting’s hoof free of his suit, but failed.

“SO WHAT IF I AM?! DID YOU FORGET YOU’RE A WONDERBOLT?! OR DO YOU SUDDENLY NOT LIKE BEING ONE WHEN THINGS GET ROUGH?!” Fire balled up more of Lightning’s suit in his hoof and nearly tore it. “AND YOU SAY I’M WEARING THE SKIRT?!”

“THAT’S IT… I’M GONNA—” Lightning pulled back a hoof to throw a punch, but Spitfire caught it before he could, throwing her other hoof around his waist. At the same time, Misty suddenly thrust her arms up beneath Fire’s armpits and hooked them over his shoulders.

Before either of the twins could react, they were pulled apart, a loud rip coming from Lightning’s suit as Fire’s hoof yanked a good chunk of the chest off with it.

“HEY!” Fire yelled, looking back and forth over his shoulder. “WHO IS—?!” he stopped instantly when he saw the cream colored arms and hooved around his shoulders, knowing his protesting was literally falling on deaf ears.

“I’M NOT DONE WITH HIM!” Lightning yelled as he looked over his shoulder to see Spitfire, his eyes widening more with anger. “OH, FINE! YOU WANT SOME FIRST?!” he yelled as he forced himself around, ripping his arm free from Spitfire’s hooves and turning himself around. With his arm already pulled back.

He threw a punch.

Everypony gasped. Even Fire and Blaze both flinched in shock as Lightning’s hoof slammed right into Spitfire’s cheek.

But Spitfire did not stumble or back off.

She let him.

Her body lurched a bit to the right, her eyes closed as Lightning’s hoof pressed to her face, but went no further, Lightning’s strength not even close to all there due to fatigue.

Spitfire opened her eye above his hoof and focused it on him with a flat expression as he kept grinding his teeth together, his hoof shaking as he struggled to keep his arm up.

“Well… do you feel better now?” Spitfire asked, her voice slightly distorted by her face being pressed into.

“Ah…” Lightning exhaled painfully as the harsh motion slowly reminded him how beaten up and tired he was. His hoof slowly slipped off Spitfire’s face.

“Well?” Spitfire pressed as she kept her eyes firmly on him. Lightning snorted and looked up at her, anger still present in his expression, but faltering as he panted. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Spitfire said as she reached for him again, grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to sit down.

“OOF!” Lightning released a breathy grunt as his plot hit the floor and he almost tipped over backwards. He continued to wheeze as Spitfire got right in his face with a sharp gaze.

“Sit down…” she said at an octave just above a whisper. “Shut up…” she narrowed her eyes further. “And think about the fact that you just punched your captain in the face,” she ended with a subtle snarl that was only loud enough for him to hear.

Typically that would have ended it. But Lightning didn’t cave. He continued to glare back defiantly, tension flaring beyond what Spitfire’s usual rhetoric and authority could contain.

“Well then… CAPTAIN…” Lightning Streak hissed at her, ignoring her tightening grip on her shoulders. “Got anymore bright ideas? Anymore ass-insane split second moves that almost get us all killed? I know, how ‘bout you play some motivational tunes and give a big speech?”

Spitfire slowly scrunched her face up as Lightning repeated Blaze’s attack on her past attempts to keep them united.

“Face it, Cap,” Lightning went on, his face contorting slightly in pain as Spitfire’s grip tightened further. “I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re sick of this shit. We’ve kept going and going. We’ve gotten our asses beat over and over. Some of our buddies are dead or close to it…” He shook his head. “But we kept going. We had a goal. Soarin was the key to all of it. Keep him safe, we get to the empire, and then we hit them back hard. That’s why we’ve been fighting, am I right? Is there any point now?”

“Oh,” Spitfire rolled her eyes finally breaking the battle of glaring daggers. “So you’re just going to give up. Screw trying to get to safety? Screw everypony else?” She snorted right in his face. “I’m sure your ‘buddies’ love hearing this coming from your mouth right now THIRD COMMANDER.”

“I bet they are all thinking the same damn thing,” he fired back, but this time calmly. “How about you look them all in the eye, and tell them why the hell we just tried so hard for?”

Spitfire opened her mouth but stopped. She exhaled as they continued to glare at one another. He did have a point. She didn’t like the way he was framing it, but Lightning was right. They had rallied over and over around the idea that Soarin was the key, he was the enemy’s target and they were fighting to get both him and everypony else to safety so they could regroup and fight back. Without Soarin here… the situation had completely changed.

“WELL?!” Blaze suddenly chimed in from nearby. Spitfire glanced over at her as she remained beneath High Winds. She was no longer struggling to get free, but she remained defiant despite being pinned to the floor. “Let’s hear it, sis! We all gave a damn and busted our fucking asses because of Soarin! We’ve been fed the same shit over and over again about how we need to get him to the Crystal Empire and how that’s the first step in winning, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yaaaa-fuck-all! Well congrats! He’s gone now and we’re out here with NOTHING!” She slammed her hooves on the floor, causing High Winds to bounce and nearly lose her balance on top of her. “Are the Shadowbolts even gonna come after us? Wasn’t the whole point to use Soarin’s power eventually?” She pointed at Spitfire while grinding her teeth. “Yes, I’m being a bitch about this! Somepony has to fucking do it!” She pointed at Luna. “After everything we were told over and fucking over again by Luna and Discord about what we were fighting for, it feels like this just sent it all to hell and we’re downright screwed!”

Spitfire let go of Lightning, stepping back from him as she turned her focus to Blaze. Just as she had with Lightning, she did her best to contain any anger or hostility.

But it was hard. She had put forth so much effort to keep her head high and face this new situation head on, and she was being dragged down. Worse, it was by the hooves of her own, not the ponies she thought would be doing it.

“They have a point, Spitfire.”

Spitfire almost snapped on the spot the moment she heard Descent’s voice. Her lips parted and revealed her teeth as she sharply turned and pointed at him.

“Oh no you don’t…” Spitfire turned and stomped right up to him, earning a glare from Starry as Lightning Dust inched slightly back. “Don’t YOU start with me right now!” she growled, the anger venting out, reaching her hoof up towards him and stopping just short of jabbing him in the chest as she came to a halt in front of him.

“I will start with you,” Descent shot right back, narrowing his eyes, reaching his free hoof up and pushing her hoof down as he kept his other arm wrapped around his gut. “By addressing something your fellow Wonderbolt just mentioned.” He placed his free hoof back on the ground with a light grunt. “The main objective of the Shadowbolts has been to capture Soarin. That is the primary reason they have been after you from the start. Elimination of your force has always been secondary.” He suddenly forced himself up, gently pushing Starry and Dust off of him as he stood on three, his arm still holding his stomach and refusing to let go. The motion was clearly difficult and strenuous, taking him a moment or two to complete it.

“And your point is…?” Spitfire sharply questioned.

“The primary mission of the Renegades is to liberate the Shadowbolts. The Shadowbolts have been coming after you to capture Soarin, so naturally, our objectives aligned,” Descent explained while glancing at Luna. “It was the reason we agreed to work with Luna in the first place. Now that Soarin is no longer here, the main reason the Shadowbolts were pursuing you… is now out there.” He made a subtle head motion towards the entry doors. “It is safe to assume that they will continue to focus on their primary objective. So the way I see it… we no longer have a reason to be here.”

His words sent shockwaves through those present and any within earshot. The Wonderbolts were caught completely off-guard by it, even Lightning and Blaze breaking from their angered thoughts for a moment. But none of them looked quite as shocked as Storm.

Not even Starry and Lightning Dust seemed prepared for it, but the most sudden movement among them, came from the one who brought them all there in the first place.

“WHAT?!” Luna suddenly sprung up, breaking her silence. She pried herself away from P.L.’s side and stepped forward. “No! Descent, you can’t!” she yelled to him, but he did not take his eyes off of Spitfire.

“Dad…” Storm Front was frozen in place beside Matteo, all the others except for Dash looking to him.

“Descent,” Spitfire growled. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

“That’s not up to you.” Descent quickly turned and glared at Luna as she took another step towards him. “OR YOU,” he said harshly, stopping her in place as he turned back to Spitfire. “As the leader of the Renegades, from the very beginning my mission has been to liberate and restore the Shadowbolts. I was willing to work with Luna and her plans because our missions coincided. Now they don’t. Soarin is lost, but we can still pursue our goal.”

“Did you get your brain knocked out along with your bowels with that hit?!” Spitfire let her anger out. She was done playing calm, it was clearly not working. “LOOK!” She pointed towards Rainbow Dash as she sat in front of Matteo, lightly bobby back and forth as she tried to find her balance. “She’s still here! That means Soarin is NOT lost! He’s still alive!”

“SO WHAT IF HE IS?!” Descent growled right back at her as he leaned forward and got in her face. “Did you forget what you saw out there?!”

“And did you…” Spitfire reached up and grabbed the neck of his suit, forcing a painful grunt out of him as she yanked on it and pulled him down slightly. “Completely miss the effect Dash had on him?! His magic couldn’t touch her! Just being near him made—”

“WHAT DIFFERENCE IS THAT GOING TO MAKE?!” Descent yelled, cutting her off and snarling into her face as he pushed back and forced her to let go of his suit. “We’re not dealing with something we understand! That wasn’t some mindless raging monster out there! His skills were sharp and his attacks calculated! That is a highly intelligent being controlling him! Do you honestly believe we’ll be able to just walk right up to him and wave Rainbow Dash in his face?! You don’t think he won’t take that into account now?!”

Spitfire had no response for that. She kept glaring and snarling right back, but everything Descent said was right. She refused to give in though. She simply couldn’t. Descent could see her unwillingness to back down, even after that. He scoffed and shook his head.

“Face it, Spitfire…” he lowered his tone, but continued to growl. “Your mission is over. It’s a failure.”

Spitfire flinched as the word ‘failure’ slipped in one ear, but she quickly pushed it out the other. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Okay, so let me get this straight,” she tipped her head and flattened her brow. “You’re going to just walk away and act like life goes on when there’s a massive threat to Equestria walking free out there? On TOP of the one we’re already dealing with!?”

“And I’m supposed to care about the rest of Equestria?” Descent scoffed. “I only care about the Shadowbolts. And even if I did care, you’re talking as if we stand any sort of chance against this demon! I’m not an idiot Spitfire. Nightshade is one thing. She is defeatable. THIS?!” he snorted and shook his head again. “None of us so much as put a scratch on him. He incapacitated me in one hit. He beat the tar out of P.L. for the love of Celestia!” He pointed out with a slight head motion towards P.L. still silent in his shame. “There is no way we’re getting near a warrior like that. Especially if he really is the spirit of the Mad King! Anypony that knows anything about King Sombra’s ruthless reign would be foolish and asking for their own death if they were to confront him head on!”

Spitfire let him rant, she let him get every word out. She had no counter argument, and frankly, she believed most of what he said. MOST… of what he said. Not all of it. She just couldn’t believe she was hearing words of retreat and surrender from Descent of all ponies.

With Descent finished and taking deep, hissing breaths in front of her. Spitfire exhaled and readied to respond.

But...

“He’s right you know…”

Spitfire’s ears perked up, her face nearly turning red with anger as simply the tone and the source made her blood boil.

Everypony, Spitfire included, turned and glanced over towards the pillar as Discord decided to finally say something.

“But…” he shook his head as he focused on Descent. “You’re a fool to think you can simply walk away from this like it’s not your problem.”

Descent furrowed his brow and huffed, rolling his eyes.

“Nopony asked for your opinion, you distorted snake.”

“It’s NOT an opinion, it’s a FACT!” Discord suddenly snapped as his body coiled off the wall and pushed him forward. He stomped right up to Descent, extended his body upward so he could loom over him, and glared straight down at him. “There is no running from him. He’s free and he’s more powerful than ever before. It’s all over for all of us. It’s only a matter of time before he destroys every last one of us.”

Everypony glanced around at one another as he went on his odd rant, his body language contradicting his message as if he was trying to force Descent to accept they were all doomed.

“Discord!” Luna reacted, turning to him and readying to say more, but she flinched and froze as Discord quickly turned to her.

“Oh, WHAT?!” He threw his arms out to his sides. She froze mid step and glared at him. “WHAT Lulu?! What are you going to do?! Just lie to them again like you did before?!” he yelled as he turned square to her and pointed at her. “Let’s face it! You saw what happened out there! Not even MY magic had any effect on him! ME!” he pressed his fingers to his chest while extending his head all the way towards Luna and nearly head-butting her. He looked her right in the eye at point blank and snarled. “Had Soarin kept control of the magic, we could have used Sombra’s power to defeat Kayn Ost and then dealt with the pompous regal windbag ourselves! But guess what?! That didn’t happen! Sombra has full control of him now. FULL CONTROL! We literally gave him a body so he could walk Equestria again, not to mention it’s a powerful one that adds to his own physical ability! He’s added Soarin’s strength and size to his own. He’s added Soarin’s unbelievable willpower to his already annoyingly steadfast spirit. Oh, let’s not forget he also now has wings… and worst of all he… he…”

Discord suddenly trailed off, his teeth still grinding, his face twitching, and his arms shaking.

“RGH!!!!!” He grunted in frustration, a sudden, weak shockwave rushing from his arms as a faint distorted aura appeared and disappeared quickly. He turned his back to Luna and shook his head. “We’re done for. We made a major gamble and the odds did not turn out in our favor. We’ve created a force beyond sublime proportions. That may have been Celestia’s intention from the start, but it’s officially gone off the deep end. Kayn Ost is the least of our problems now. There’s nothing we can do.”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” Spitfire suddenly pushed by Luna and stomped up to Discord. She tried to walk around him and get in his field of view, but Discord kept turning to avoid looking at her. She stopped, growled, and stomped a hoof to the floor hard. “Discord! Turn around and look at me!” she yelled, already not amused by the first time he tried this.

Discord sighed, reluctantly looking over his shoulder to glance at her.

“ALL. THE. WAY!” Spitfire demanded, not putting up with anything less than his full attention.

Discord grumbled incoherently as he did as he was told… surprisingly. He turned and faced Spitfire, keeping his hands rested on his hips as if telling her to hurry up and get it out. But she was the one in control here, not him, and she intended to make that very clear.

“While I have several questions for both of you…” Spitfire began, stepping closer to Discord while shooting a quick, sharp glance at Luna. “I’m going to assume that you know more than she does,” Spitfire put bluntly as she returned her sharp gaze to Discord. She reached up and poked him right in the stomach. “I want you to look every single one of us in the eye and tell us everything about what’s going on. EVERY. SINGLE. DAMN. THING. Don’t leave one detail out and don’t try to weasel your way around anything. We have been through too damn much, and suffered so much damn pain through all this. We ALL deserve the TRUTH! Nothing less! You give it all to us clean, right here, right now!”

Discord’s expression remained flat from start to finish. He did not flinch or waver no matter how many times she poked him or yelled.

He looked up and glanced around him, seeing all the pairs of eyes focused on him. Some were demanding, some were confused, but all of them wanted answers.

“Feh… fine…” he scoffed as he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “It’s not like it’s much of a secret anymore anyway…” he said while rolling his eyes and tapping a finger against his arm.

“Don’t pull a muscle while telling the truth or anything,” Spitfire said as he delayed. Discord snorted and glared at her, but did not retort. He sighed and looked off into a corner of the ceiling. Deliberately avoiding eye contact as he began.

“This may be hard for you to grasp, but I’m not the one who’s been keeping the most secrets,” he began flatly. “At first… even I was left in the dark, convinced that Celestia merely used a powerful forbidden magic. I even taunted her a little, making light of her act and how it would force her to retreat to her halls for a while to restore her drained power.” He grunted as he shook his head. “But then I began to notice something, just as Luna had. What was taking her so long? Celestia’s magic is beyond anything in this world, volumes upon volumes more powerful than Luna, or even me if we were to compare side by side, but it only should have taken her a month at most to restore her enormous magic reserves. As more and more time passed I considered taking a closer look, but what really pushed me to dive in and see for myself… was after Soarin had his lesson in offensive magic with Fancy Pants.”

He looked away, gritting his teeth slightly and grumbling.

“I volunteered to be a target for that lesson. I did so out of confidence that there was absolutely no way Soarin could damage me, as a god and as a master of chaos magic. But then… one of his attacks… hurt. And before I could figure out what was going on, his magic power grew tenfold and put me through the back wall of the throne room. Soarin snapped. His magic went haywire. He was attacking everything that moved… if not for his own display of skill, Fancy Pants could have easily been killed. Had I not pulled myself from the rubble and subdued him, Soarin might have destroyed the entire royal palace.” He growled to himself as he looked back at all of them. “But that was just it… it took effort, a lot of it. I had to use everything I had to push through and stop him. Me, a deity, nearly blown away by a mortal,” he said with a tone of disbelief as he pressed a hand to his chest.

“It was at that point that I knew something wasn’t right. I was aware that the magic forces within Soarin were strong, but strong enough to hurt me? To challenge me? While being cast by a stallion with no previous knowledge or experience in controlling magic? If it were Celestia or Lulu casting it, I’d understand, but Soarin is not a divine alicorn. He isn’t even a unicorn for heaven’s sake! It made no sense… and I don’t like things I don’t understand!” he said while clutching his fists, chaos auras appearing around them briefly before calming down. “I needed answers and I needed them immediately…” he paused and glanced around, taking a deep breath as if anticipating a certain response. “So… I decided it was time to question Celestia.”

He held his breath as the collective shock spread around everypony, just like he thought it would. Spitfire was halfway through a deep breath to yell, but Luna suddenly pushed past her.

“WHAT?!” Luna threw her wings out as she stopped right in front of her. “MY SISTER?! SHE’S—?!”

She was silence as Discord placed a finger on her lips and shook his head.

“No Lulu, she’s not around.” He quickly turned to the rest of them, absorbing looks of all kinds as he focused on Spitfire’s angered glare. “And NO… I can’t take you to her,” he dispelled what he assumed was the question on their minds as he tapped a finger to his forehead. “Telepathy and proximity to her divine aura. Don’t ask. It’s not something you can comprehend.”

“Now listen here you piece of shit…” Spitfire advanced around Luna, the two of them seemingly battling over who got to be angry at Discord.

“Forget about it,” Discord quickly cut her off with a snort. “I can do that, you can’t, end of story. It’s not what’s important right now. What IS important… is that I confronted her and demanded the truth.” Discord released a long sigh, his ears drooping down and his eyelids flattening. “And believe me, when I finally pried it out of her… I was beyond shocked.”

He paused for a few moments, turning and looking over everypony towards the lobby doors. He stared out them as they waited for him to continue.

“As you heard me say when we were out there,” he made a halfhearted hand motion towards the doors as he looked over his shoulder at them. “Celestia did not use a magic devised by Sombra… she literally put the living soul of Sombra himself into Soarin. She—”

“Pardon me, but let me try to wrap my head around this so far,” Spitfire cut him off suddenly as she pressed a hoof to her head. “Before I even ask why she thought something like that was a good idea, can I just say, WHAT THE HELL?!” she raised her voice so suddenly that many around her flinched in surprise. “I’m just gonna step back and put these pieces side by side,” she sat down and held her hooves out in front of her. “Princess Celestia…” she put her hooves to her right. “Took the soul of an ancient, evil monarch…” she put her hooves in front of her. “And stuffed it into my best friend’s body?!” she put her hooves to her left. “I can’t believe you can say something like that so casually!” She threw her arms out to her sides. “And even better… Celestia just happened to have King Sombra’s soul lying around or something?!”

“Do you want me to keep going or what?” Discord snarled at her as he crossed his arms. “Don’t start getting angry at me for this either, or at least this part. I had absolutely no idea she was harboring the soul of that heathen in her body either. And believe me, I immediately let her know how crazy she was for even giving such an act a thought!” he looked away, but continued to grit his teeth whenever he wasn’t speaking. “But by the time she told me all of this, the deed was done. Sombra’s soul had already fully rooted itself into Soarin’s body. There was no way for me to remove him at that point without killing Soarin in the process… and I’m sure that was exactly her intention.”

“Okay, I’m going to let all this bullshit go for a moment and ask one simple question,” Spitfire pressed on. “WHY?! Why did Celestia do this?!” she demanded.

“Because…” Discord began immediately, but paused for several second. He looked down at the ground and exhaled. “Because of Kayn Ost.”

Everything went quiet as the odd name left Discord’s lips. Perhaps it was out of anticipation? The name had come up a lot, and was always synonymous with the enemies they were facing, but it always seemed so unknown and out of reach.

“Kayn Ost is…” Discord started up again, but visibly winced. He paused looked down, groaned to himself quietly, and huffed before looking back up. “A… threat of unknown proportions…”

He was speaking slowly and the random noises and movements right before it had a few ponies glancing at each other, but their curiosity was quickly curbed by their desire to hear more.

“While I do not know what he is fully capable of, he presents an unconventional danger that threatens even us gods. He is an enigma that is constantly avoiding sight and we have no solid read on him. The damage he has already caused and his ability to create these magic chaos crystals aside, there is nothing more ominous about him than his ability to elude even us gods. That may not sound like much to you, but believe me… The only way to completely elude the gods is to be on par with them. Meaning… there is a possibility that he is an immortal. Celestia herself has no idea what he’s capable of, and… because she wanted to avoid another major catastrophe, she did… this.” He waved a hand out into the air.

“Elaborate,” Spitfire spun a hoof in the air, verbally nudging him.

“I’m getting there,” he snapped at her with a snort while lowering his face all the way down to hers. “I’m already telling you more than I’ve ever wanted to. Don’t keep whining when you’re getting what you want.” He stood back up straight and kept his arms crossed, tapping a finger against his arm. “With no way to tell just how powerful Kayn Ost may be, Celestia decided that she wanted to create a champion that could take on such a being, but obviously, no such pony exists. She was already the most powerful entity in Equestria, but she feared it would not be enough. So…” Discord released a long, exasperated sigh. “She decided she wanted to make one… using the soul of one of the fiercest warriors in the history of Equestria. Sombra’s soul is… unique. His spirit is so powerful that it even retained his physical attributes. Completely integrating his spirit with a living pony would give their body every drop of strength and ability Sombra wielded on top of their own. With his soul, she truly could create something unlike anything Equestria has ever seen. She did this in hopes that whoever she chose would be able to keep control and work together with Sombra upon the two wholly becoming one.”

He furrowed his brow as Spitfire tipped her head slightly, her eyes widening yet her eyebrows still pointing down to create one of the most outrageous mixes of disbelief and infuriation he had ever seen.

“Don’t you give me that look,” Discord hissed at her. “I wasn’t the one who chose to do this, nor do I feel Celestia had all her marbles organized when she thought it would work. She went ahead and did it without saying anything to me, Lulu, or anypony. She kept her ideas to herself and waited until she found one whom she believed would be able to house and contain Sombra’s soul. You’d think… she’d look for a unicorn or something since magic was going to be involved,” he paused and slowly glanced over at Descent. “But apparently, when she saw Soarin’s tremendous willpower during the Ponyville tornado incident, she decided he would be the one. And when Descent nearly killed him and put him in the hospital, it gave her the perfect cover to walk in and make the transfer under the guise of a noble, selfless act.”

Spitfire blinked and shook her head out.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” she held her hooves out in front of her. “Hold on, back up… Run that by me again?”

“You heard me. She used Soarin’s hospitalization as an excuse to do this,” he repeated as Spitfire’s left eyelid twitched and her mouth hung open.

“W…wait…” Fleetfoot suddenly chimed in, drawing attention to her as she sat with Surprise. High Winds shifted aside so Discord could see her. She looked just as shocked as Spitfire, the two of them reacting more than most because they were in there with Soarin when it all happened. “Didn’t Celestia say she had a premonition?” she asked weakly, her tone much softer and reserved than Spitfire. But despite the tone, her question made Luna visibly twitch and bite her lip as she slinked backwards towards P.L. Spitfire sharply glanced towards Luna, but Fleetfoot didn’t notice. “She said she saw Soarin fighting in the future,” Fleetfoot went on. “That she wanted to make sure he was there… as her vision foretold… right?” she asked looking at Spitfire. But Discord grunted and shook his head.

“It was a bold-faced lie.”

A painful silence followed, only the sounds of several gasps erupting all around and looks of shock making their way onto the face of everypony within earshot. Luna shut her eyes tight and looked down, not daring to look up in fear that many were staring at her after the stunning reveal that she already knew… but never told them about.

Surprisingly… Spitfire was the only one who managed to hold herself steady. Instead of acting shocked, the moment she heard Discord’s words, she simply flattened her brow and stared grumpily at him.

“You know…” Spitfire broke the silence and exhaled harshly through her nostrils. “If you gods haven’t been lying to me left and right already, I think I may have actually been surprised. Congratulations! You’ve effectively killed my trust in all of you! Or at least the little bit I had left!” Spitfire said loudly with immense sarcasm as she bobbed back and forth and rolled her eyes in the widest arc she could manage.

“Don’t you start with me on that again,” Discord growled at her. She stopped her odd motions and shook her head, crossing her arms as she sat upright and steady.

“I won’t.” Her tone went right back to business, but with undertones of frustration. “But only because you haven’t finished giving me all the details yet.”

“No, that’s all there is to it,” Discord claimed as he turned his side to her and flicked his snake tongue at her briefly. “She wanted an unbeatable warrior, she chose Soarin as the base, and she put the soul of Sombra in him. After that, we did everything we could to make sure he remained contained until Soarin could handle it, but in the end, her foolish plan failed… and now we have an unstoppable monster on the loose.” He ended with a harrumph and turned his back to her.

“What did I tell you about trying to weasel out of this?!” Spitfire immediately stood and stomped closer to him. She stopped after two steps as Discord abruptly spun back around and extended towards her, angrily pressing a finger to her chest as his eyes narrowed into a harsh glare.

“I’m NOT trying to weasel out of ANYTHING!” he yelled in her face. “That’s what you asked me about. I told you EVERYTHING!”

“That’s far from the whole story and you know it!” Spitfire stood on the tips of her hooves to even their heads out. Discord immediately pulled higher to remain above. “How about you explain why the hell you didn’t tell us about any of this?! Why did you leave us in the dark for so long?!”

“BECAUSE…!!!” Discord went quiet, he held his glare and his teeth were grinding together, but he hesitated hard. “Because…” he quieted down and pulled away from Spitfire, averting his eyes. “Because Celestia wanted me to keep it quiet,” he admitted reluctantly.

“AND YOU LISTENED?!” Spitfire growled while sitting down, grabbing her mane, and pulling on it like she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Yes,” Discord repeated.

“WHY?!” Spitfire pressed, her breath hissing in and out of her nose and between her teeth.

“I have my reasons, and they’re personal,” Discord continued, speaking flatly as he refused to look back down at her.

“Okay, fine!” Spitfire let go of her mane and slammed her hooves back to the floor. “Then how about you tell us where Celestia is?! You seem to know!”

“I can’t tell you that,” Discord quickly denied, but his lips were parting to reveal his teeth gritting as if holding in anger.

“Oh, how FUCKING convenient!” Spitfire threw her arms and head back. She stood up, forced her wings open and hovered up to Discord. He blinked and turned to glance at her, but was forced to turn all the way as she grabbed his neck and pulled his whole body over. “WHY. NOT?!” She screamed at point blank as her face started turning red.

“Because she said not to tell that either!” Discord reached up and tried to pull her arms off him, growling as his eyes began to glow. Spitfire shook her head furiously and tightened her grip.

“I thought you said nothing mattered anymore! If that’s the case, why are you being so difficult?! Why all the loyalty to Celestia if you keep saying how messed up her plan and decision was?! TALK YOU FREAK!!!!!!”

That did it. Discord suddenly roared, his chaos aura erupting around him. Spitfire was thrown off of him and sent tumbling to the floor, everypony around them shielding themselves as the bright distorted light and magical forces rushed outward from him. Spitfire grunted as she rolled up, but was barely able to sit up as Discord stomped right up to her loomed over her and jammed a finger into her face.

“NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME, YOU INSIGNIFICANT WINGED IMP!” his voice was echoing, his eyes barely visible from the streams of chaos magic rising from them. “AFTER WHAT CELESTIA AND I HAVE BEEN THROUGH AND THE THINGS I’VE DONE TO HER, I’M A LITTLE LESS THAN WILLING TO DEFY HER WISHES!”

Spitfire bent backwards as Discord pushed his finger further forward and jammed it against her chest, everypony bracing themselves around them as they watched in confusion and horror. The entire lobby, Wonderbolts, Renegades, thestrals, and staff alike were all holding their ground, watching as magical forces danced and rushed all about.

Everypony except for Luna… who instead heard Discord’s words and looked down, biting her lip as the rushing winds pushed her ethereal mane about.

Discord pulled back slightly, but held his arms out in front of him, hands balled up in fists as the rushing magic weakened, but the aura around him remained alight and bright, glowing stronger within his eyes, around his horns, and around his arms.

“Okay, sure, fine, I get it!” Discord continued, pounding his fists against the air with every word. “Look at me! I’m the god of chaos!” he said in a mocking voice as he snapped his fingers. A bright flash filled the room and it was suddenly filled to the brim with pigs with bull horns that were quacking. “I can do whatever the hell I want, whenever the hell I want, however the hell I please!” he snapped his fingers again and it started raining in the lobby, umbrellas sprouting like flowers from the floor tiles and unfolding to cover everypony in the room. The pigs grew wings and began floating up into the air. “But GUESS WHAT?! It doesn’t mean I’m incapable of respect, humility, and dignity!!!!” He threw his arms out and all of the random things disappeared instantly, putting it all back to the way it was. He thrust his finger back into Spitfire’s face. “And there are things I’ve done that I regret! I bet you didn’t see THAT one coming, huh?! HUH?!” he lowered his face into Spitfire’s. “How could silly old DISCORD be capable of such things?! Of decency?! Of shame?! NO WAY, NO SIR!”

His aura instantly dissipated, disappearing completely as he held his face and finger in place. He huffed and puffed with heavy, heaving breaths, his chest expanding and retracting visibly as the breath hissed in and out between his teeth.

Spitfire just stared at him with her brow scrunched, her eyes narrowed, her head tipped a little, and her mouth slightly agape.

Discord’s breathing calmed down, but he blinked as he saw the look Spitfire was giving him. His pupils darted back and forth before he turned his head from side to side.

The entire lobby had gone dead silent and all eyes were on him. Discord’s teeth parted, allowing him to breathe normally as his eyes slowly grew wider. He suddenly pulled away from Spitfire and stood up straight, he took several deep breaths while placing his hands on his head and rubbing them back and forth around his horns before running them slowly down his face. He groaned into his hands as they passed over his eyes and mouth, wiping them all the way down and grabbing his beard as they slipped off his chin.

Spitfire lifted an eyebrow as Discord went through the odd sequence, but before she could speak Discord released his beard and held his hands out to her.

“I…” he said quietly, his voice squeaking. He paused for several moments before turning away and letting his arms droop at his sides. “Look… I’ve told you what happened and what Celestia’s intentions were. Isn’t that enough?” he glanced back at her slowly. Spitfire blinked in surprise as Discord’s expression changed drastically. He almost looked… sad. “Don’t push me in other directions,” he went on. “I’ve told you everything relevant to this.” He turned his back to her and waved a hand weakly in the air. “Go on… go ahead. You can all do whatever you want. I had one job in all this. I had one thing I was supposed to protect and watch over, and I completely failed. As far as I’m concerned, I have lost any reason to care…” he trailed off, once again leaving the lobby in silence as now more or less every single pony in the lobby was now completely focused on the group in the center.

Nopony said anything. They all just stared at Discord, not sure what to say or think.

But then the sudden sound of shuffling hooves came from nearby.

All eyes turned to Misty Fly.

She was up on all four hooves, the shuffling apparently from a sudden shift from sitting. She was staring at Fire Streak with a look of surprise on her face that was quickly shifting and showing different emotions as he continued to translate everything that was just said for her. But eventually, as Fire continued, her face suddenly locked on one very clear expression: Irritation. LOTS of it.

As the cross look suddenly crossed her semblance, Fire Streak paused and tipped backwards slightly, as if he knew what the look meant. Misty lifted a hoof and rotated it, urging him to continue. He obeyed and finished translating.

The moment he finished, Misty’s lips scrunched into a mixture of an angry frown and a pout that formed beneath her narrowed eyes.

She stomped a hoof and turned to Discord, Fire leaning back further to avoid her tail as it nearly whipped him in the face.

Spitfire was sitting between Misty and Discord, but the moment she saw the look on Misty’s face, she simply stood up and stepped out the way, clearing the path as Misty began stomping forward with Discord in her sights.

Everypony was watching her now, but she didn’t look at a single pair of eyes trained on her. Misty kept her focus on Discord as she moved roughly along the floor and right up behind him. Despite her heavy, stomping steps, Discord did not turn nor look at her. She stopped and stared at his back for a moment before reaching up, grabbing the tuft of his tail in her hoof, and giving it several hard, downward yanks.

“Ow!” Discord flinched as he felt the tug. He turned around with his mouth open to scold whoever he saw, but the moment he saw who he was looking at, he didn’t bother. He closed his mouth, and lifted an eyebrow as he stared directly into the hard, silent glare he was receiving. After a moment he reached over, grabbed his tail and yanked it free from her hoof while narrowing his own eyes into a glare to match hers.

Misty kept her hoof in the air, instead turning it over and making a beckoning motion towards her face.

Without question, Discord lowered his head down, using her ‘invitation’ to get closer and glare harder while trying to figure out exactly what she wanted.

Turns out… he already did what she wanted.

The moment his face was within the desired range, Misty punched Discord right across the face, walloping him in the jaw. It was not gentle, it was not a ‘come-to-your-senses’ type strike. It was a full wind-up and full follow through that belted him so hard it spun him around.

Nopony saw it coming, even Spitfire was surprised. She trusted Misty, and always knew when to let her handle a situation, but she wasn’t expecting that.

Discord’s neck nearly twisted in a full circle as his body was forcefully elongated and he stumbled backwards. His chest and face hit the pillar behind him, causing his form to awkwardly coil up before the rest of him caught up and he nearly fell into a heap on the floor.

One of his arms shot up, catching the pillar before he could fall, the talons of his eagle arm instantly jamming and digging into the pillar.

A furious growl escaped his throat as he forced himself off the pillar and whipped back around. He looked livid, his eyes glowing brightly and a distorted purple light encircling him as he ground his teeth together, his snaggletooth nearly piercing his own lip.

“THAT… DOES IT! I DON’T NEED THIS OR—” he was yelling towards Misty, or where she was at least. He stopped dead mid-sentence as he blinked and looked down. Misty had moved with him, and was right in front of him, trapping him between her and the pillar behind him. Before he could shift his anger, Misty suddenly reached out and grabbed the bear paw of his other arm, yanking it forward and pressing it to her forehead, never taking her glare off of him as she forced him along.

Discord stared down at her for a moment as she held his hand to her head. He hissed through his teeth, exhaling as the glow around him faded and he closed his lips, scrunching them angrily as he calmed down.

Everypony else was confused about what Misty was doing, but Fire suddenly perked up, the situation seeming awfully familiar.

Discord released an annoyed snort as a soft aura illuminated around his arm, slowly extending to surround Misty’s head.

“Fine!” Discord suddenly spoke while staring at Misty. “What is it?! And what was THAT for?!” Discord suddenly questioned her as everypony looked on curiously.

Misty’s eyes twitched subtly as they remained in a glare.

“It’s called being HONEST!” Discord yelled down at her.

Misty narrowed her eyes further.

“I just told you why!” Discord threw his free arm out to his side before sharply pointing at Fire Streak. “Did your little colt friend over there get too distracted by your flank to translate properly!?”

Misty’s eyes widened without losing their sharp gaze. She reached up and coiled her hoof in his beard, gripping it and pulling him down until his face was level with hers. She leaned forward and scowled at him with one of the most terrifying expressions any of the Wonderbolts had ever seen her make.

They remained in that position for several seconds, Discord’s eyes slowly growing wider.

“I’m a… WHAT?!” Discord blinked. “Is that even a word?!”

Misty parted her lips to show her teeth jammed shut. Discord’s jaw dropped and his eyes twitched, giving her a very disturbed look.

“You’ll… do what?!” his face suddenly contorted, wincing to the point where his eyes almost crossed. “That’s… absolutely horrifying! What kind of sick and twisted imagination runs through your head?! I…” he winced harder. “NO! I DON’T CARE IF I’M A DRACONEQUUS! I DON’T BEND THAT WAY EITHER! Can we stop talking about this!? You’re going to make me vomit!”

Spitfire remained quiet, her eye twitching slightly as she watched Misty… apparently tell Discord a few things that were disturbing enough to make him cringe. She turned and glanced at Fire Streak, who wore a blank look on his face as he watched Misty make him wretch. Spitfire made a casual hoof motion towards Fire Streak while tipping her head curiously. Fire glanced at her, stared for a moment, and just shrugged while shaking his head.

“OOF!” Discord grunted, his beard coiling up and smacking him several times in the face like a whiplashing window shade. He lurched backwards, but didn’t move very far as Misty gripped his arm and made sure it stayed on her forehead. “RGGH! Are you done?!” Discord growled as she kept glaring at him.

Misty’s eyes slowly opened, her glare slowly fading into a simple serious look.

“If you’re going to be this way, I’m leaving! I don’t see what this is going to accompli—”

Discord suddenly froze, his eyes going wide and his mouth hanging agape.

“What…?” he said quietly as he blinked and kept his eyes trained on her.

Misty’s face had softened, but she was now staring at him sternly.

The Wonderbolts began glancing back and forth between the two of them. Getting only one side of the conversation was confusing, but they were locked in regardless. What did Misty just ‘say’? Why did Discord react the way he did?

Discord remained quiet for several moments as Misty Fly slowly lifted one of her eyebrows.

“B…Because…” Discord stuttered. “I can’t. I already tried and it didn’t work. You were out there, you saw it. My magic flat-out failed.”

Discord flinched in surprise as Misty huffed loudly and puffed her cheeks out.

“You keep putting it that way, but I’m only being realistic,” Discord shook his head.

Misty reached forward and poked him in the stomach.

“What?”

She poked him again, a little harder.

“What about Sombra?” he suddenly asked in a frustrating tone, his face scrunching up.

Misty tipped her head slightly to the left.

“I…” Discord’s expression softened right up, his ears flopping down as he sighed. “I don’t know,” he said as he looked away.

Misty flattened her brow.

“I said I don’t KNOW!” Discord suddenly snapped at her, whipping his head back towards her and glaring. Everypony else was startled by his sudden shift in tone, but Misty didn’t budge. “She decided to keep him I guess! It’s not like I get to decide what she does or who she keeps hidden away inside her body! You’d have to ask her why she did it, I certainly have no idea!” he slurred the ‘I’ for two whole seconds as he threw out his free arm and rolled his eyes in a very exaggerated manner. “He was nothing but a simpleton!” he ranted on as he lowered himself into Misty’s face and poked a finger towards her chest. “I NEVER understood her fascination with him! We probably would have been better off if she had just—”

Discord stopped abruptly, his voice cracking, his eyes sticking open, and his pupils shrinking to little dots. He quickly looked up, once again seeing all eyes, every single pony in the lobby staring at him as he realized he was blurting several things out emotionally.

Misty remained still, but felt his arm shaking as his hand remained on her head.

“I…” Discord’s voice squeaked. “I have to go.”

He quickly pulled his hand away and held it up into the air. Misty jumped in surprise and quickly reached out to grab him again. But before she could touch him, he snapped his fingers. Misty shut her eyes and covered them with her arm as Discord vanished with a bright flash of light.

Misty blinked as she slowly peeked over her arm. The moment she noticed Discord was gone, she took a deep breath and released a loud breath that sounded like a grunt of frustration while shaking her head. She turned around… and stopped in place, looking back and forth as all the eyes of the lobby were now trained on her.

Spitfire wasted no time.

“Fire,” she said while twirling a hoof in the air without looking at him.

“On it,” Fire quickly complied as he walked by Spitfire and approached Misty. Misty was already sitting and lifting her arms to begin by the time Fire reached her. Fire gave her a nod and she began making quick hoof and wing motions, faster than most of them could decipher, if they knew the sign language at least. Fire watched her carefully, taking in every motion.

Storm Front suddenly twitched.

“Oh… sweet god…” he said quietly as Little Star and Squall glanced at him.

“What?” Star asked him curiously as she remained leaning against Dash. Storm shook his head.

“You don’t want to know,” he quickly diverted as his back legs moved closer together. Star and Squall looked back towards Fire, noticing that he was twitching uncomfortably as well.

“Um…” Fire pulled his neck back slightly, wondering how Misty was keeping a straight face. He glanced back at Spitfire. “So… the first part was her chastising him for giving up so easily. She also gave him the business about not telling us of Celestia’s whereabouts. When he got testy with her she used some…” he trailed off, shutting his eyes and scrunching his mouth briefly. “Some… colorful and imaginative language to get her point across,” he framed it the best he could before turning back to Misty and nodding.

Misty proceeded, continuing her hoof and wing signals. Fire watched and nodded until he got more information, putting up a hoof to signal a pause.

“When he abruptly calmed down, it was because she asked if there was any other reason he gave up,” Fire continued. “She didn’t find his answer to be sincere, like it was a dodge. He had already mentioned that his magic had no effect. All he did was reword it, so she pressed him on it.”

He looked back to Misty again and she continued eagerly before he could nod. Fire let her go on until she was done. She finished with a huff and stomped her hooves down to the floor, causing Fire to flinch before he glanced back towards Spitfire again.

“And that last strange outburst he had was after she asked why Celestia would keep the soul of King Sombra around if he was so dangerous. Misty thinks that his reaction implies there’s something more personal going on there,” Fire explained as he faced Spitfire and sat back down.

“That was pretty clear…” Spitfire rolled her eyes and sighed as she reached up and rubbed a hoof on her forehead.

So much for putting pieces together, Discord finally talked but she still felt like they didn’t get very far. With one god gone… it was time to turn her attention to the other.

She turned and looked around until she found Luna. She had backed up and replaced herself beside P.L., who was still looking down and not showing any sign of paying attention as his body twitched. Luna was not even looking at him, she was looking off into space as if hoping to avoid being pulled in to the conversation.

“Luna,” Spitfire called her named as she turned and slowly made her way over. Luna flinched, but held her head steady, only glancing briefly before averting her eyes. Spitfire snorted, flattening her brow as she picked up her pace slightly. P.L., surprisingly, did not move or react to her aggressive approach, still lost in his thoughts of shame so it seemed. “Care to explain any of that?” Spitfire asked as she stopped in front of her and made a subtle head motion over her shoulder. Luna stayed quiet for a moment, but when Spitfire started tapping her hoof loudly, Luna slowly turned to look at her.

“Discord… already told you everything we know. More than we knew, actually,” she admitted.

“I already had a feeling that was the case,” Spitfire acknowledged, recalling Luna’s surprise as Discord spoke. “But I’m not talking about the facts. I’m talking about the details,” Spitfire pressed. Luna blinked and tipped her head curiously. “Level with me here, Princess,” Spitfire motioned a hoof towards her. “He clearly didn’t want to answer one question. Why in Equestria would your sister keep the soul of such a powerful, dangerous monarch from the past around and store him away in her body?” She paused as Luna looked down. “I get the whole ‘crafting a champion’ thing, as crazy as the idea is, but she didn’t just suddenly call him forth. The Wrath of Sombra occurred over a thousand years ago, she’s had him in there for that long… why?”

Luna continued to look down, staying quiet for several seconds.

“Luna…” Spitfire pressed, flattening her brow.

“We…” Luna finally spoke up, but paused again. “We believe we know why, but…” Another pause.

“Spit it out, Luna,” Spitfire pushed, losing her patience.

But then suddenly, Luna looked up and hardened her expression into a stern gaze.

“No,” she replied simply. Spitfire froze, her eyes wide as she took a moment to register the response and make sure she heard her correctly. She was fed up to the point where any sort of retaliation from Luna or Discord was unthinkable. When the light shock faded she instantly growled and glared daggers at her, but Luna shook her head. “Stop, we do not believe it is relevant to the situation at hoof,” Luna explained herself, but Spitfire was having none of it.

“You have exactly one chance to convince me why it isn’t!” Spitfire sharply fired back while pointing a hoof up towards her face, but Luna didn’t budge. Whatever this was about, Luna suddenly found the strength to stand firm after moping for the past few hours. But that only made Spitfire more curious about what she could be hiding.

“This has nothing to do with our sister’s failed plan or what we currently face,” Luna began. “And if we speak, we believe you will be quick to link it to why she took the chance today. We’d rather not besmirch our sister’s name with unneeded, false speculation before we know more on the subject.”

“Luna, I am NOT in the mood for this!” Spitfire stood up on her hind legs and jammed a hoof against her chest. Several ponies flinched and glanced at P.L., nearby thestrals began hissing, but also noticed their captain staying put.

“AND NEITHER ARE WE!” Luna suddenly yelled out in her Royal Canterlot Voice, startling everypony, causing the walls and floor to rumble and thestrals to drop and shudder briefly. Spitfire squinted as her mane was blown back slightly, but held firm, the two glaring at one another as Luna pulled back for a moment and cleared her throat. “Captain Spitfire, the fact of the matter is that our Sister tried to create a champion with the resources she had available and it backfired. We should be focusing on what to do next, not why our Sister had Sombra to begin with. That is currently irrelevant.”

“Is it REALLY irrelevant?! Or do YOU think it’s irrelevant?” Spitfire shot back quickly. “You were awfully quick to find your confidence just now to defend Celestia! Don’t expect me to think that’s a coincidence!” Spitfire kept yelling.

“It IS irrelevant!” Luna harshly snapped back. “And we request that you treat it as such!”

Everypony glanced back and forth, all speechless, some scared, some curious, but most of them confused as Spitfire and Luna continued to go at it, one searching for answers while the other held strong.

Spitfire gritted her teeth, growled and went back down on all four hooves. She let her head hang for a moment and released a groan of anger and dissatisfaction.

“Fine, Luna… Fine!” she slowly lifted her chin, showing a flat expression with hints of anger seeping through. “Then answer me one question… TRUTHFULLY.”

Luna looked at her carefully, before exhaling through her nose.

“Speak.”

“Look me in the eye and tell me…” Spitfire pointed to her eyes. “Did you know that Sombra was within Celestia or Soarin?”

“No,” Luna answered without even taking a breath.

The two stared at one another for a long, painful, ten seconds before Spitfire scrunched her face and released a muffled grumble. She sighed heavily as she turned her side to Luna and folded her ears back.

“Well… okay then!” Spitfire yelled up into the air while throwing her head back. “Uuuuuuggghhhhhh…” Spitfire suddenly groaned while sticking her neck forward and opening her eyes wide. It looked like she was trying to vomit. “I literally CANNOT believe I’m about to say this after all you’ve put us through… but I’ll take your word for it…” she trailed off as she looked up and saw everypony reacting around her. She knew that wasn’t what they wanted to hear, she knew they wanted answers just as much as she did, but it was clear she was not going to get any further.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t apply a little more pressure.

“BUT…!” she suddenly spun around and pointed at Luna, her eyes once again narrowing into a glare. “This is not the end of this conversation. I agree that we need to focus on the here and now and how to proceed. But if we get out of this alive, I’m getting the full story. You owe it to ALL of us. Got it?!”

“Understood,” Luna replied simply with a nod and a huff as she looked away and snorted.

“I’m glad we agree for once,” Spitfire said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

With that taken care of, Spitfire slowly began turning back to her Wonderbolts, but before she could say anything else…

“Now then…” Descent spoke up, seeing his opportunity to steal the spotlight and forcing his way in. “That was all very interesting, but this is your problem now,” he turned to Starry Skies and Lightning Dust while still holding an arm over his stomach. “I’ll see about us departing.”

Everypony flinched and quickly remembered the bombshell Descent had dropped on them before Discord stepped in and knotted everything up a bit more. Descent spoke so casually about it just now, almost as if he was trying to take action before anypony could tell him otherwise. Again, both Starry and Dust stared at him in surprise.

But Spitfire did not hesitate for a moment.

“Nice try Descent,” she quickly spoke up before Descent could give any orders. He stopped in place and growled as Spitfire made her way back towards him. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

“You have NO authority over my decisions,” Descent retorted fast while keeping his back turned to her.

“You think you’re clever by hiding behind all the crap we just had to absorb from Discord, but you’re not getting off the hook that easily,” Spitfire sat down and crossed her hooves, driving a stern gaze directly into the back of Descent’s head.

“Off the hook? Don’t twist my reasoning into cowardice,” he answered calmly, but with a slight growl beneath his tone.

“Your ‘reasoning’ is stupid,” Spitfire put bluntly, causing Descent’s ears to stand up. He snorted and finally turned around, or at least far enough to look over his shoulder at her.

“Excuse me?” he hissed as he took in Spitfire’s body posture and expression. She was looking at him and speaking to him like a mother catching a teenager in a poorly fabricated lie.

“You heard me, but let me analyze this anyway, where everypony can hear me loud and clear,” she continued, her tone remaining constant and annoying Descent further as she held her hooves out in front of her. “If I have this straight… You claim that you were only here because our missions intertwined, correct?”

“That’s right,” Descent growled at her, still not facing her fully. Spitfire preferred that he turn and face her fully, but she was beginning to wonder if it had something to do with him constantly holding his stomach. In the end, she didn’t care as long as he wasn’t ignoring her. “And now they are not. I’ve no more reason to risk the Renegades here.”

“For starters,” Spitfire quickly went on. “You’re going to be cutting your force in half. Do you honestly think the Wonderbolt veterans within your ranks will up and leave us behind?”

“They can stay and die if they want,” Descent said as he narrowed his eyes. “I only accepted their help when they offered and bear no alliances to them. The Shadowbolts among my ranks are all I need." Spitfire broke eye contact with him for a moment and glanced at Starry and Dust behind them. Lightning Dust was glancing between Descent and Starry, but Starry was just staring at Descent with an awful lot of conflicting emotions written all over her face. It was as if she wasn’t sure she agreed, but agreed anyway because Descent was saying it. “Now if you’ll excuse—”

“Secondly…” Spitfire quickly cut him off before he could try to escape again. “You do realize that I intend to go after Soarin… and the Shadowbolts will be going after him too, right?”

Descent opened his mouth to fight back, but said nothing, slowly closing his mouth back up and diverting his eyes.

“Not intertwining, huh?” Spitfire added while lifting an eyebrow. Descent glanced down at the floor, his mouth scrunching up and the ends of his lips shuddering to remain closed as he growled within. “If you’re going to make excuses, at least put together a believable one first. Face it, Descent, your argument is trash. Why are you trying to run away?” Spitfire kept laying it on as thick as possible, and the moment she turned up the heat, it struck every nerve dead center.

“I do not run away!” Descent turned and pounded his free hoof on the floor before pulling himself over to Spitfire. “And I am NOT a coward!” he yelled out, his eyes wide with fury as he got in Spitfire’s face.

Spitfire remained perfectly still, her face still unchanged as Descent bared his teeth and growled into her face.

All she did was lift an eyebrow and glance down a little, her eyes scanning his chest and moving further down.

“How’s your stomach doing by the way?” she asked calmly.

Descent froze, breath meant for a yell expelling from his throat as the question hit him like a ton of bricks. Spitfire smirked, but only briefly because she was waiting to bring it up. She quickly tipped her head slightly to get a better view of his arm that was still clutched over his stomach, examining it carefully as Descent remained still.

“You think I didn’t notice you holding your arm there the whole time? That’s right where you got hit, right?” she asked. She blinked in surprise as Descent abruptly shifted backwards and turned his side to her, grunting and sitting down as he kept his arm wrapped over the spot.

“That’s enough,” he said quickly and gruffly.

“Descent…” Spitfire flattened her brow. “Are you afraid of—?”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!!!!!” Descent suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs. “Ahhhhh!” he groaned loudly in pain right after, his body twitching as he stuck out his free arm and lurched forward. His hoof slammed to the ground and scratched loudly against it, supporting him as he hacked and coughed.

“Descent!” Starry yelled, nearly catapulting from her spot the instant Descent physically broke down. Lighting Dust flinched, narrowly avoiding a wing to the face before she followed behind.

Spitfire sat patiently and watched as Descent struggled to remain upright. Starry and Lightning Dust scrambled to his side, both reaching out to support him. Lightning Dust kept her hooves on his arm as he finally sat up, but Starry pulled back quickly. His mouth hung agape as he huffed and puffed for air, his whole body shaking as his arm clamped harder to his stomach.

“I knew it,” Spitfire nodded. “You are a hell of a fighter, Descent. But you’re a lousy liar.” Spitfire completely ignored the death glare Starry was shooting in her direction as she waited for Descent to say something.

“I…” Descent sputtered as he coughed again. “I am… only looking out… for my family…”

Spitfire blinked, her eyes opening slightly wider. She wasn’t expecting that. It seemed that neither was anypony else. By now, just about everypony in the lobby was listening in or had gathered closer to hear what was being talked about. The reaction from the Shadowbolts was very noticeable, all of them perking up at Descent’s words. It took Starry Skies a moment to react, her angry glare towards Spitfire fading once the words finally registered and she looked up at him. Spitfire glanced briefly towards Storm Front, the first thing that came to mind when Descent mentioned family, but after a moment of thought, she quickly remembered.

Descent slowly looked up at Spitfire, his eyes squinting and his teeth stuck shut as he twitched and winced. But he wasn’t just showing pain on the outside, his eyes were filled with pain as well. Hesitance, uncertainty, worry… they all showed through.

“You saw him,” Descent went on, struggling. “You saw what he did to me…”

All eyes were suddenly drawn to his arm over his stomach as he finally moved it. It was covering a flap of torn spandex that was still attached to his suit. He cringed as he removed his arm from it, but slowly reached his hoof towards the ripped flap, and pulled it back.

Everypony within range either gasped or flinched in shock, some breathing in as they slammed their teeth shut, their eyes twitching. Beneath the flap of torn suit, among the scars on Descent’s stomach, was an enormous, nasty bruise. It was so harsh and discolored that it showed right through his dark fur, bits and pieces of fur actually missing around it as if they were torn off by the impact itself. It looked like he literally had a dent in him, the bruising extending up towards his ribs, sporting several places where the skin had broken from hard trauma and was speckled with bits of blood.

“I have never taken a more painful hit in my life,” Descent continued, Starry Skies frozen and speechless at his side as she stared at the bruise. “I wouldn’t be surprised if I have some fractured ribs,” he coughed and dipped forward slightly, but managed to stay up with both his hooves now on the ground. “He did this to me and…” he paused and made a weak motion towards P.L. “Just look at what he did to P.L. I loathe to admit it, but P.L. is the strongest, most battle hardened warrior we have here, and he’s broken, in shambles with his armor ripped to shreds.” Descent shook his head. “And you saw those weapons, right? They weren’t even stable. What if he gains full control and those are sharp? I’d be dead right now. What do you expect us to do against power like that? This is out of this world, out of this dimension, something we can’t even comprehend!” Descent paused and grimaced, wobbling side to side as he took a few heavy breaths. “Do you honestly expect me confidently throw my mares and stallions into battle against something so dangerous?” He shook his head again. “No. I can’t do that. I want to focus on saving the rest of my family, the Shadowbolts who are still trapped under the hooves of Kayn Ost. If I can do that without confronting the monster that Soarin has become, then I will.”

“And that’s… where I’m going to stop you.”

Spitfire perked up as a familiar voice of authority met her ears. She turned and looked over her shoulder, all eyes following hers as Blazetail stepped out from the surrounding crowd and slowly made his way towards them.

Descent blinked and tipped his head up, his eyes locking on Blazetail as he walked by Spitfire and gave her a quick tap on the shoulder. Spitfire nodded and yielded the floor to her predecessor.

“You know your way around the battlefield like old farmer in a cornfield, kiddo. But you’re still new at being a leader,” Blazetail said as he stopped in front of Descent and sat down. “You’ve got a lot of heart for your fellow Shadowbolts. That’s commendable.” He shook his head. “But as a leader, you can’t walk around brick walls. Danger is the name of the game.”

“Don’t talk down to me,” Descent snorted towards him, his breath hissing between his teeth as he put up a defense. “My whole life has been wrought with danger, but after all the Shadowbolts have been put through thus far, I’m a little less than willing to send them to their certain deaths. Not that I’d expect a Wonderbolt to understand that.”

“Son,” Blazetail flattened his brow and released a loud huff. “How do you think I felt during the last Griffon-Drake War?”

Descent went silent. He kept glaring at Blazetail for a moment, but he had no rebuttal. Blazetail was nearly fifteen years his senior and had, in fact, fought in a war as a leader.

“The Wonderbolts were on the front lines of every major battle,” Blazetail continued. “I had to send some of my most cherished brothers and sisters headlong into the thick of things on countless occasions. Every single time I worried that it would be last time I ever saw their faces. And… every once in a while, that was the unfortunate case.” He paused and took a long, deep breath, sighing. “And wouldn’t you know it, but I hesitated all the time. I thought just like you are now. My hesitation was out of concern for those I held responsibility for, but you know what? Sometimes my hesitation led to problems, sometimes even deaths whether it be allies or my own Wonderbolts. I even had one old veteran that branded me for it,” Blazetail smirked and chuckled. “He’d tell me to pull my head out of my ass and get my shit together. Hell, sometimes he even gave split second orders in my place. Back then the Wonderbolts tended to listen to him more than me anyway.”

“But there is plenty of certainty here…” Descent cut in, shaking his head. “We can’t face something so powerful.”

“Are you so sure about that?” Blazetail asked as he stepped aside and motioned a hoof behind him. Descent and everypony else slowly followed his direction… their eyes landing on Rainbow Dash. She still had a ghastly look about her, but she was upright and balancing on her own. She was staring towards Descent, her ears up and turned to listen despite her state.

Descent remained quiet as Blazetail kept his arm extended towards Dash. Eventually, Blazetail tipped his head slightly and lifted his brow.

“If you ask me, it seems like there’s a lot of uncertainty here. I was thinking just like you until I saw what happened between Rainbow Dash and Soarin. I haven’t a clue how it works or what it means, but I’m not throwing in the towel until we know more. You have to at least try, Descent.”

“Again, he won’t just let us near him with her!” Descent tried to argue his previous point again. “So she has an effect… That doesn’t lessen the risk,” Descent exhaled as he shut his eyes and tipped his head down.

“I never said it did,” Blazetail stepped back in front of him. “I know how you are, Descent. I know you never want to show fear in front of your fellow Shadowbolts, but it’s okay to be afraid. A leader that doesn’t fear the worst possible outcomes has no heart.”

Descent opened his eyes and looked at Blazetail carefully as he turned his side to him.

“Always fear for those you lead, but don’t let that fear overpower the trust you have in them. I know you don’t really want to leave, and I’m going to bet your followers don’t want to leave either. Don’t go trying to create reasons to,” Blazetail smiled at him. “I’m not asking you to listen to this old stallion ramble on and take it as sage advice without question. Just think about it. Put it in perspective. You’re part of all this one way or another. It’s up to you to decide what kind of leader you want to be for your wingmates.”

Descent listened carefully to every word with Starry and Dust still at his sides. The two looked up at him as he sat and absorbed it all, but said nothing as Blazetail turned and walked back towards Spitfire.

Blazetail blinked as Spitfire shot him a smirk.

“What?” he asked as he reached her and stopped.

“I’m not worthy,” she said with a quiet chuckle and bowed a little towards him. “You’ve still got it.”

“Oh, cut that out,” Blazetail rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide a smirk. “I just did what I had to do. I agree with everypony else around here… no motivational speech or rah-rah hoot and hollering is going to get us up and moving here.” He shook his head. “I just told him what he needed to hear. To be perfectly honest, I’m just as conflicted as he is. But I’m not about to skedaddle with so many unknowns still unknown. So we can’t have him leaving, we’re stretched thin as is.”

“Sheesh old-timer, how about you just step in while you’re at it?” Spitfire said jokingly… Maybe half-jokingly. The whole sequence she just witnessed was painfully reminding her of how much she missed having Silver around, even if he didn’t do anything besides kicking their asses in the right direction every once in a while. Blazetail lifted an eyebrow at her.

“I don’t think so, kiddo. I chose you for a reason, you know,” he suddenly turned and pointed a hoof at her, tapping her on the chest. “It’s your turn. I tied down the bull, now you need to direct the troops,” he spoke in a more serious tone as he hardened his expression. “You intend to go after Soarin no matter what the cost, correct?”

The question caught Spitfire off guard. The answer was definitely yes, but… at the same time it was a more complicated situation than that. It took her a moment or two to just notice she was hesitating, something Blazetail clearly noticed as well.

“Yes, that… and…” Spitfire began slowly. “I intend to stop the threat he currently poses if… if we can’t…” she had no idea why she was having such a hard time saying it all.

“Misgivings?” Blazetail cut in, his hoof poking into her chest. Spitfire wasn’t sure if he was suddenly testing her too, but she decided to assume he was… because he used to do this to her all the time before he retired. So she came right out with it.

“Of course,” she said with a firm nod. “Soarin is my friend. He’s my best friend. There are emotions in play for me that shouldn’t be, but I can only acknowledge them or ignore them. I’m acknowledging them. I want to save him no matter what, but… if we can’t, we have to do what’s best for Equestria. Our duty as Wonderbolts is to fly into the face of the irregular and unknown,” she reached up a hoof and gripped Blazetail’s on her chest. “If we can’t save him… then we will do what we must,” she glanced at Dash. “Even if it comes at a high price.”

“Hmph…” Blazetail slowly smiled. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” He moved his hoof from her chest to her shoulder, giving it a pat. “Go talk to your Wonderbolts. Grab this nonsense by the balls and set things straight. They’ll follow you.”

Spitfire smirked at his choice of words. Blazetail was just like Silver in some ways. While he lacked the bluntness, he knew how to stay calm and say the right things when everything was going wrong.

With the words of her predecessor swirling in her head, Spitfire turned and made her way back over towards her top elites.

Their ‘meeting’ had more or less broken apart by now. There were so many confrontations and strong words being thrown around that everypony had been thrown into a tizzy. But even within such disorganization, they still managed to break off into organized groups. The Wonderbolts sticking with Wonderbolts, the Renegades sticking with Renegades, and so on.

The top elites and squad Foxtrot were still all together as well, signs of lingering animosity still hanging between them. The twins were on opposite sides of the group, and Blaze was sitting in front, her arms crossed and grumbling to herself, no longer trapped under High Winds’ plot.

But from the moment Spitfire turned and started approaching them again, they all perked up and glanced towards her. All except for Dash, at least.

Spitfire kept Blazetail’s words in mind as she closed in.

Set things straight.

Easier said than done. She hoped she wouldn’t have to grab any balls, but if Lightning Streak pushed her any more she might just have to.

She locked eyes with Lightning the moment she stopped and sat down before them. She only stole a quick glance at Blaze a moment or two later before going right back to Lightning. But neither of them were the first to speak.

“Spitty…?” Fleetfoot’s voice squeaked from within the group. High Winds blinked and shifted aside as Fleetfoot stood, wobbled, and gingerly stepped towards her. Spitfire quickly broke eye contact with Lightning and instead looked upon her good friend with concern. She held a hoof out as Fleetfoot stumbled towards her. She quickly reached out and grabbed it, supporting herself as she looked up into Spitfire’s eyes pleadingly. “We’re… going after Soarin right?”

Her voice made Spitfire’s heart ache, and she was sure the rest could feel it too. There was a tone of pure, weak despair in Fleetfoot’s voice as if she knew there was nothing she could possibly do. She wanted Spitfire to tell her they could do it. Fleetfoot’s state and voice seemed to send a sudden rush of calm through the group, Lightning Streak and Blaze both relaxing a little, both looking away as the thought crossed their minds as well.

“We can save him…right?” Fleetfoot pressed, her light grip on Spitfire’s arm tightening as she bit her lower lip and looked at her with wide eyes.

Spitfire stared into Fleetfoot’s eyes for a long moment before slowly closing hers and releasing a long breath.

“Fleet, I don’t know,” she answered truthfully, immediately seeing the dejection in Fleetfoot’s eyes nearly double. She quickly put her other hoof on Fleetfoot’s shoulder. “That’s the truth of it. I’d only be giving false comfort if I said otherwise. But…” she gave Fleetfoot a strong nod as she kept her eyes locked on hers. “I’m not going to sit here and worry. I have no idea if we can save Soarin or not, but I sure as hell intend to try,” she paused, glancing up and giving a quick sweep of the rest of the group with her eyes, making sure they could all see how serious she was about this. “And I expect everypony here to share that mindset. I understand that you’re all tired of this, I am too. But if we lie down and curl up, we’re not living up to what we represent.”

It didn’t take long for her to notice those words had little effect. Those who were worried still looked worried and those who were angry were still angry.

“If I could give you a better answer I would,” she quickly continued while shaking her head subtly. “But all we can focus on right now is what we know. Until we have a better grip on the situation, we shouldn’t forget that we were reaching for our destination with more than Soarin in mind. We have several injured that need medical attention beyond what Bliss can provide, let’s not forget a lot of us owe Silver for even being alive right now,” she put heavy emphasis when speaking about Silver. That seemed to do the trick. The top elites seemed to perk up at the mention of Silver. “We also need to get help for our captives, not to mention Wave Chill. He’s been holding on this long, we need to deliver for him too.”

Spitfire watched as the looks in every pair of eyes changed. There had been so much focus on Soarin that other things seemed to momentarily slip through the cracks. Spitfire had a feeling they would come to their senses after the brief reminder. She didn’t want them to keep going for her. She wanted them to keep going for those that really needed the help right now. Soarin was important, but he wasn’t the only Wonderbolt in need.

With the visible change sweeping through them, Spitfire took the opportunity to go further. She wasn’t going to try and rouse them with a motivational speech, but they needed direction and she was going to give it.

“I know you’re all worried about Soarin… or all wondering what the hell’s going on. I’m just as shaken by this, believe me,” she began by bringing herself down to their level, making sure they didn’t see her as standing over them. “But there’s more at stake than him. We need to focus on what we can control right now. We need to keep moving to the Crystal Empire so we can help Silver, Wave, and everypony else that needs it. They are just as much our responsibility as Soarin,” she reiterated. “That goal is within reach, so that will be our first move.”

She was pleased with the looks being sent her way. While there were still some emotions clearly stretching in different directions, they seemed to agree with her thought process.

“Once we have all that taken care of… we can figure out what to do about Soarin,” she went on, finally letting go of Fleetfoot and planting her hooves back on the ground. “Because where we stand right now, we know far too little to do anything about it. We don’t even know where he is or where he may be headed. We—”

“Your destination is one in the same.”

“WHAT THE—?!” Spitfire nearly leapt into the air as a voice suddenly came from directly behind her. All the top tiers and Squad Foxtrot jumped in surprise as well as the voice seemed to come out of thin air. Several ponies looked over, Descent’s ears popping up as the voice met them.

“That voice!” Descent blinked, grunting as he turned around too quickly and almost fell over.

Spitfire spun around as a faint, blinking pink light appeared behind her. She slid backwards, almost knocking over Fleetfoot and a few others as her heart jumped in her chest.

The light slowly grew brighter… and started creating the faint outline of a stallion. Everypony in the lobby was already on edge. Whatever this was didn’t help it. But when Spitfire finally regained her focus and shook her head out, she realized who the voice belonged to. And as the silhouette began to fill in, she snorted and glared.

With a bright pink Flash… Moon appeared. He was standing calmly right in front of the central pillar, and stepped forward to speak, but…

The lobby was suddenly thrown into uproar. Gasps and screams blared throughout as ponies who had yet to encounter him either backed up or stepped forward to protect the injured. The thestrals forced themselves up, hissing and screeching as their eyes glowed bright yellow. Even P.L. finally seemed to snap out of it, standing up in surprise as a Shadowbolt appeared so close to Luna. He fell right back down the moment he tried, but he kept trying to get back up. Moon lifted his brow as everypony reacted to him. His eyes widening slightly and his crystals lifting up in front of him as several around him began to show signs of hostility.

“EVERYPONY STOP!!!!!!!!!!” Spitfire yelled at the top of her lungs as she jumped into the air and threw her arms out. “STOP! STOP! STOP!!!!!!!!” she yelled louder, taking heavy breaths as everypony halted in place and stared towards her in confusion. “RELAX DAMMIT!” she yelled as she huffed and puffed. “Moon… is not hostile…” she quieted down as everypony went silent. “Just, trust me okay, this isn’t the first time he’s done this.”

She slowly lowered herself down, everypony surrounding them completely and utterly flabbergasted with no clue what was going on here. The hostile projection ceased, but everypony was now focused to the center again, wondering what the hell one of their enemies was doing in the Nimbus.

Moon scoffed as he looked about at all the pairs of eyes trained on him.

“Nice communication,” he commented with a faint tone of sarcasm. “You haven’t told your force about me?”

“How long have you been standing there!?” Spitfire ignored him, stomping up to him and jamming a hoof in his face. Moon stayed still, not even flinching.

“Long enough to—”

“You’ve got some nerve always waltzing in here like you own the place!” Spitfire cut him off, her anger getting the better of her patience. Moon furrowed his brow.

“I don’t adhere to your—”

“I’m the one doing the talking here!” Spitfire cut him off again, getting into his face and grabbing a hooffull of his suit neck, yanking it forward. “And I’ve got several questions you better answer!” she yelled, the air of the surrounding ponies relaxing as they slowly noticed Spitfire’s control of the situation, and how this clearly wasn’t a first encounter. “What the hell is going on? What happened to Nightshade?! Did you know about Sombra being inside Soarin?!” she fired off the questions rapidly.

The edges of Moon’s lips curled downward ever so subtly, but he remained calm in his usual manner regardless. His eyes emitted a faint pink glow and the sparkling flashes of his telekinesis surrounded Spitfire’s hoof, slowly removing it from his suit. He glanced briefly at Descent and Starry Skies both glaring at him as Spitfire tried to resist his magic, but ignored them and grunted.

“I’m working on figuring that out, I don’t know, and no,” he answered all three questions as quickly as they were given to them. “Now don’t ask any more questions, I’m not here for you to pick my brain,” he stated firmly, but Spitfire was not having it.

“You don’t show up here and tell me what to—” Spitfire stopped suddenly, blinking as she looked down at where she was previously holding Moon’s suit. “Why do you have a gold star on your chest?” she asked out of the blue, lifting her brow as her eyes landed on the gold sticker.

Moon’s eyes widened as he glanced down at his chest. His face scrunched and he grumbled to himself as he quickly reached up and ripped the sticker off, crumpling it up and tossing it aside.

“I said no more questions,” he repeated in an annoyed manner.

“Then out with it already,” Descent suddenly hobbled forward with Starry following close behind. He snorted as Moon calmly glanced towards him. “Why are you here this time?”

“I’m here to offer my advice,” Moon began quickly, implying he was not going to dawdle further. “It’s up to you whether or not you wish to follow it.” He nodded as he turned his attention back to Spitfire. “If you still intend on reaching the Crystal Empire, I’d advise you to do so immediately. You have a clear opportunity to arrive there unimpeded,” he explained as he turned his eyes back to Descent. “The Shadowbolts are in complete distress and disarray for the time being, but I wouldn’t bet on them being down for long. You’d best move while they are still gathering themselves,” he turned back to Spitfire. “I have not caught word of our next move yet, I’m about eighty percent certain they will target Soarin before you, but that’s not a chance I’d take. You have an opening, take it.”

“That’s it?” Spitfire tipped her head and huffed. “That was already what we planned on—”

Spitfire flinched and yelped as Descent suddenly pushed her aside and placed himself in front of Moon. She almost reflexively shouted at him, but stopped, deciding to let it go as she watched him narrow his eyes and glare at Moon.

However… Moon kept his eyes on Spitfire, purposely avoiding eye contact with Descent.

“Moon,” Descent addressed him gruffly. Moon didn’t look. “Dammit Moon, look me in the eye!” he pushed. But again, Moon didn’t look. Descent growled for a moment, but eventually exhaled and let up on the sharpness a little. “I’m not going to ask about your intentions. I just want to know more about the Shadowbolts.”

Moon’s ears twitched slightly before he finally turned and looked Descent in the eye as he asked him to. He stared for a few moments before briefly glancing beyond Descent at Storm Front sitting a little ways behind him.

“What about them?” he complied as he returned his focus to Descent.

“First, please tell me… Is Nightshade okay?” he asked with a great amount of concern in his voice. “You got her back safely?” The moment he posed the question, Starry scooted up beside him, her interest in the subject clear as day as she leaned forward and her ears were turned.

“Yes, Rapidfire brought her back in one piece,” Moon began, both Descent and Starry visibly relaxing a little the moment he said it. “But she ran off shortly after we returned. I have not spoken to her or examined her myself so I have no idea how she’s faring, but she is clearly not well,” he explained as Descent and Starry seemed to tense right back up. Descent gritted his teeth and his ears drooped down as he listened closely. “To be honest, since her battle with Silver Lining, she has not quite been herself,” Moon went on. “Before she faced off against him, she was just as she had always been… Brutal, sadistic, intimidating, and overly assertive with her sexuality. Since the battle, it’s been like looking at a different pony. She’s evasive, rarely speaking to us beyond threats and orders. There have been several instances where she radiates a sense of panic or desperation, sometimes personal urgency. This is also all coincides with a recent visit from our enigmatic ‘client’ that I managed to catch ear of. He’s becoming impatient with her and warned her that he’s only willing to give her so many chances.”

Moon paused as he watched Descent and Starry process it all, becoming progressively more worried as it all sank in.

“I’m no psychologist, but the writing on the wall is pretty clear,” he continued. “Things are growing wildly out of control and she is terrified of the consequences of constant failure,” he paused and watched as Descent looked down, narrowing his eyes and growling to himself. “As for what happened to her just now, I haven’t a clue. She knows the risks of overusing the crystals, yet she appeared here with six crystals and lost all control of herself as it overwhelmed her. Frankly, I’m surprised it didn’t kill her outright. While I was listening into her meeting with our client, he did give her some sort of potent dose of magic I’m unfamiliar with. Perhaps that allowed her to handle more without dying. It’s, frankly, pointless to speculate much further because I have no facts, only observations,” he paused as he glanced to his left and saw the crumpled up sticker on the floor near him. “And before you ask me about Ruin accompanying her here, don’t bother. I have no idea if he was actually involved or not,” he finished with a faint snort.

“Nightshade…” Starry spoke softly as she pondered Moon’s words. She glanced up at Descent, unsure of how to express herself. She was worried, obviously, but just like dealing with Descent, she didn’t quite know how to show it. Descent on the other hoof, was clearly distraught with anger slowly creeping onto his face. He suddenly lifted a hoof and slammed it to the ground, hiding a twitch of pain as the vibration made those around him jump with surprise, save for Moon.

“DAMMIT!” he yelled towards the floor, his upper lip twitching split between pain and the feeling of powerlessness. “We have to get her out of there before it’s too late…”

“If things continue to spiral out of control the way they are, she may be gone before you have the chance,” Moon suddenly said. Descent’s eyes widened, his head snapping up with his eyes locked on Moon.

“What?!” he reacted with shock and slight confusion. “What was that?!”

“I’m certain you heard what I said,” Moon huffed and flattened his brow. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s dead, or killed, or something along those lines soon.”

Descent suddenly forced himself forward, a ferocious look in his eyes as he reached a hoof towards Moon’s neck. Not even Starry saw it coming as she was nearly knocked aside by the sudden advance. Moon did not move, but his crystals brightened, his telekinesis activating and stopping Descent’s hoof right before he could grab a hooffull of his suit.

“Enough grabbing the suit, please,” Moon requested flatly as Descent growled and strained within the magical force.

“What does that even mean?!” Starry Skies asked as she shifted herself up beside Descent. Moon left her alone as she showed no sign of touching him. Instead, he kept his eyes on Descent and exhaled through his nostrils.

“Assuming she isn’t destroyed by our client first. There are… factions forming within the ranks,” he explained. Descent stopped struggling in an instant, a quiet gasp escaping his throat as he registered Moon’s words. Moon quickly noticed the change in demeanor. “Is it safe to assume this was your other question? About the current state of the Shadowbolts as a whole?” he asked as he released Descent from his magic.

“Yes…” Descent confirmed as he completely simmered down.

“I have never seen us more divided,” Moon immediately laid out. “Nightshade’s leadership was the last knot keeping the Shadowbolts in line. But with the knot quickly fraying, loyalties are being challenged and tempers are being pushed. Half of the force is blindly loyal to our client’s mission and acquiring more crystals. The other half are caught wondering what we’re actually trying to accomplish and why,” Moon shook his head. “You know better than anypony how the Shadowbolts are meant to operate. We are mercenaries who take on odd jobs and contracts without asking questions. But the longer this endless, drawn out campaign has run on and the more it wears on us… it’s forcing us to ask questions, but none are being answered.”

“There’s been a lot of infighting?” Starry asked, speaking what was on both her and Descent’s mind.

“That barely describes it,” Moon glanced at her briefly and nodded. “It’s nothing like the usual gangs and squabbles that have always happened around the fortress. This is serious and real. And I’m more than certain that Blade… is planning to overthrow Nightshade.”

“WHAT?!” Descent blurted out with a look of disbelief on his face.

“Uh… is he NUTS?!” Starry cut in throwing a hoof out to her side. “There’s no way he’d be able to kill Nightshade. I don’t care how messed up she is right now, she’d still rip him to pieces!”

“Blade has long abandoned the Shadowbolt code,” Moon continued as Descent and Starry stared at him with mixed confusion. “He knows he can’t defeat her head on but he doesn’t care. I wouldn’t be surprised if he concocts other ways or means to get rid of her.”

“I can’t believe this…” Descent shook his head. “Not even our own code matters anymore? And… others are following him in this madness?”

“Indeed they are,” Moon answered simply. “And all of this is splintering the commanders as well. Angel and Void are following Blade’s direction without question. Shadow is beginning to open her eyes to the reality around her and I’m sure Sin won’t be too far behind… assuming he recovers and actually takes a moment to use his brain.”

“And you…?” Descent asked as he fought to understand everything he was being told.

“I am indifferent,” Moon narrowed his eyes a little. “Nice try, but I’ve no desire to discuss my motivations,” Moon added sharply, but Descent showed no sign of pushing him on it.

“What about Ruin?” Starry decided to ask. Moon just lifted an eyebrow in response. “Or... Should I even bother asking?” she added.

“I have no idea,” Moon answered while rolling eyes. “He’s treating the whole ordeal as entertainment.”

“Dammit…” Descent suddenly grumbled to himself, prompting Starry and Moon to look towards him. He had his head down, his teeth were jammed together and his hooves were digging into the floor. His arms were shaking, and it was clearly not because of his physical pain. “Blade… Angel… Void…” he shook his head. “Why? Why has it come to this? Is there no reason or honor left among them?”

“Desperation is a game changer, Descent,” Moon spoke up as Descent remained still. “When it all breaks down, you can’t cling to hope that level heads will prevail. This has gone to hell and beyond, you’d best rethink your ambition to save all of them. It won’t happen, not with the way things are. The sooner you recognize this, the less sleep you will lose over it.”

“Do you have to be so defeatist?!” Starry snapped at him, speaking out because Descent wouldn’t.

“I’m only being realistic,” Moon quickly replied. “It’s why I’ve chosen to pursue my own goals instead of worry about the Shadowbolts.”

“Don’t you throw that ‘I don’t care’ bullshit at me!” Starry spat as she growled at him. “I’m not blind, I saw you help Nightshade and Sin!”

“I only helped Sin because Shadow wanted me to. Rapidfire saved Nightshade not m—”

“Oh I’m SURE that’s it!” she cut it off. “I don’t care what the hell your personal goals are, but I’m not going to let you just tread on ours!”

The two went silent. Moon staring into Starry’s glare as Descent remained behind, still looking down. Moon took a deep breath and exhaled, both through his nostrils. He shook his head lightly.

“Oh, what? Got something to say to me?!” Starry hissed while edging slightly closer to him.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about Blade’s intentions in the immediate or short run,” he suddenly shifted, catching both Starry and Descent by surprise as they both perked up, Descent finally prying his eyes off the ground. “There are still many Shadowbolts who are loyal to Nightshade and the code. If he were to attempt a coup the way things currently stand, it wouldn’t be easy and he knows it. I stand by what I said before, I believe Nightshade’s days as the captain are numbered, but there is still a little bit of time before I see any of the possibilities materializing.”

It certainly wasn’t reassuring, but it wasn’t what they were expecting. Perhaps Starry’s verbal attack made him rethink and walk back a little, though there was no way he’d admit such a thing.

“But this is all the more reason why you have to get moving now,” Moon quickly continued, turning his focus away from the two of them and back towards Spitfire, advancing towards her as if purposely trying to get away quickly. “The Shadowbolts are without a ship, many are injured to the point where even the crystals will take a little while to heal them, and the heightening divisions are putting up barriers to a quick reorganization. The sooner you can get to the Crystal Empire, the sooner you can make your next move and beat them to Soarin.”

Spitfire watched him carefully, taking a moment to look past him towards Descent and Starry. She didn’t completely follow what was exchanged due to lack of information, but it wasn’t important right now. Descent had been locked in and she didn’t want to give him a chance to think twice.

“Agreed,” Spitfire gave Moon a quick nod. “I just hope we can figure out where Soarin went.”

Moon stopped suddenly and lifted an eyebrow.

“Did you not hear me when I arrived?” Moon asked quizzically as he tipped his head a little. Spitfire snorted and flattened her brow.

“I heard you say something, but your whole spooky, appear-out-of-thin-air act kind of distracted everypony,” she said sarcastically.

“I’m honestly a little surprised here,” Moon went on as Spitfire’s sarcasm bounced right off. “His eventual destination should be quite obvious.”

“I’m not in the mood,” Spitfire waved a hoof in front of her face. “Just spit it out.”

“Where are you about to go?” Moon persisted with the indirectness anyway. Spitfire scrunched her face, reluctantly playing along.

“We’re going to the Crystal Empire.”

Moon said nothing. He just stared directly into her eyes.

“What?” Spitfire growled quietly. Moon sighed.

“Who once ruled the Crystal Empire?” he asked condescendingly.

Spitfire blinked twice. Then her eyes shot open and held open stiffly as her mouth slowly opened just a little bit.

“Oh… OH!” she sat down, the blank look of epiphany stuck to her face through the whole motion. “Oh my god… duh…” Spitfire groaned as she smacked a hoof against her face and shook her head as everypony around her seemed to catch on as well. “That… makes all kinds of sense. I can’t believe I didn’t think about that. It’s been a long day…” she paused, but then gasped and looked up quickly, her ears standing straight up. “Wait! Then… hell, we need to—”

“Get moving quickly,” Moon finished her thought for her. “I’ve no doubt that the Crystal Empire is heavily fortified and not in immediate danger due to your letter to Princess Cadence, but I’d still waste no time.”

“Wait,” Spitfire shook her head out. “How did you know about the letter?”

“Not important,” Moon replied, earning a quick look of frustration from Spitfire, but she let it go. As Moon said to them often, she had better things to worry about.

“Well, that simplifies things then,” Spitfire stood up. “If the Princess got my letter, then I’m sure they’ve already prepared for anything. Besides, based on the state Soarin was in before he flew away, I’d say Dash slowed him down a bit. He didn’t even take off in the right direction.”

“Perhaps,” Moon nodded. “But I stand by my prediction that he will eventually return to the Empire. A fallen King’s goal is always to return to his throne.”

Spitfire quickly turned back to the top tiers as Moon finished.

“Alright everypony, let’s make use of this window. As soon as we finish with roll call, we’re taking off and crossing the finish line. I know we’re all tired and beaten to hell, but we can rest AFTER we get help for Silver, Wave, our captives and anypony else that needs it.”

She received some nods of approval, but mostly just looks of acknowledgement. Either way, there wasn’t much else they could do, and if there was one thing that they could look to for motivation, it was getting help to those in need.

But Moon stared at Spitfire’s back, his eyes open a little wider. He thought about her exact words just now, specifically about the Shadowbolts. He stole a very brief glance at Starry Skies and Descent as Lightning Dust rejoined their side, the two mares once again looking over Descent. He thought back to Starry berating him a moment ago.

He had finished what he had come to do. They all had their backs turned to him. He should be making his exit, but something was preventing him.

He slowly looked down at the floor, one of his crystals floating up to his face. He stared into it, locking eyes with his reflection as he thought for several moments.

“Spitfire,” he suddenly spoke up. Spitfire blinked, turning away from the others as she heard him call her name. She looked at him carefully as his head remained tipped down, his eyes still on his crystal.

“Yeah?” she asked, curious. Moon slowly looked up, the emotion within his eyes different. Subtle, but different.

“Before… I leave,” his words were drawn out with pauses, like he was forcing it or trying to find the words as they came out. “The Shadowbolts… can I… see them?”

The question caught her off guard. But it wasn’t just her. Descent and Starry heard the request. The top tier Wonderbolts heard it too. Spitfire glance back and forth at them, noticing that Luna and P.L. had moved away from them. It seemed their curiosity was just as piqued as hers by his request.

“Uh… sure,” Spitfire answered before allowing herself to think too hard. Only one thought crossed her mind before the decision. Did Moon know a way to help them… and could he help Wave? “Follow me,” she motioned to him, as she walked by and started moving towards the doors to the recruit barracks.

Moon followed right behind, the two leaving the rest speechless.

It didn’t take long for Descent to force himself up and follow, both Dust and Starry immediately telling him to take it easy as they chased.

Soon… Misty fly grabbed Fire Streak by the arm and pulled him along.

“Ow! Ow!” Fire yelped, eventually finding his hooves as he was pulled along. Lightning Streak grunted, still clearly frustrated, but curious nonetheless. He got up and followed, Surprise quickly doing the same, not wanting to be left behind from her squad.

“Winds, can you help me?” Fleetfoot hobbled over to High Winds.

“Fuck off, she’s mine,” Blaze grumbled, just blurting out the first thing that came to mind, but High Winds yawned and nodded to Fleetfoot.

“Sure… grab on…” she opened a wing and offered it to Fleetfoot, Fleet grabbing it with a hoof as Winds began leading her.

“HEY!” Blaze yelled, wobbling as she followed. “The fuck did I just say?!”

Storm and Squad Foxtrot just stared, watching them leave on by one, save for Air Mach who had… fallen over on his back and nodded off, snoring. Storm clearly wanted to follow, but he didn’t want to leave the others behind. Squall, Star, and Matteo shared the same mindset, but two things were holding them back. They weren’t sure if Spitfire’s invitation to listen in extended to this too. They didn’t want to overstep their bounds, but they also wanted to keep an eye on Dash. She seemed to be slowly coming to her senses, but she was still very out of it as she sat with her back against Matteo.

“Ow.” Matteo suddenly spoke. They all looked up at him. “Ow, ow…” His eyes were twitching and the ends of his beak clicking. “Rainbow Dash… that hurts…”

“Wha?” Star blinked and glanced down. One of Dash’s hooves was grabbing and pulling on one of Matteo’s talon shanks. “Dash?”

Rainbow Dash was staring towards the group moving away from them. Her other hoof slowly lifted up and pointed weakly.

“I think she… ow… wants to… gah… follow them,” Matteo grunted as he tried to resist the unusually strong grip and pull Dash was putting on his shank. Star blinked and looked towards the group, wondering if she should make a judgment on it, but she perked up as Squall moved next to her, already reaching for Dash. He paused as he grabbed one of Dash’s arms, glancing at Star.

“Well, come on,” he said with a snort, earning a slightly flat look from Star. She pushed his attitude aside as she gently rested her little hooves upon Dash’s hoof until she coaxed it off of Matteo’s talons. With his arm free, Matteo joined them in helping her stand.

Storm Front could hear the commotion from all of them, but was still staring towards the barracks.

“Hey,” Squall’s voice caught Storm’s attention. Storm blinked and glanced at him. He quickly saw that they had Dash up on all four of her hooves and ready to move. “You want to follow daddy or what?” he asked bluntly as they moved by.

Storm didn’t know what to say, staying quiet as they all slowly moved along, leaving him behind. After a moment, he shook his head out and snorted.

“Jerk…” he muttered to himself as he stood up and gave chase.

---To Be Continued---

Author's Note:

Pro-tip: Never cross Misty Fly.

Lots of info in this chapter eh? Dash ios very out of it, and is constantly getting flashback trauma visions of Soarin, that cant be good. The Wonderbolts are getting fed up it seems, can you blame them? Though Lightning, control your temper. Discord finally opens his trap, but what else is going on in his mind? He always acts like he has everything figured out, but is he just as conflicted as everyone else? Descent once again showing a side of him he likes to keep hidden, and for all her 'i don't give a shit' attitude, Starry sure lets the fact that she does 'give a shit' slip through pretty hard from time to time. Blazetail is showing some Silver-esque style here, but while it's effective, we all no he can't quite match the master of motivation. Hmmm i wonder why Moon decided to see the captives? the answer may be obvious, but Moon always has personal reasoning he wont talk about, i guess we'll find out soon.

The next chapter will pick up right after this moment, had to seperate them because this could have easily gone on to 30-40k words.

Art in this chapter by: Foxenawolf

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

Comments

[Witching Hour]

THAT **CENSORED** PICTURE!!! **dies laughing**

[Easyglider]

“I want you to bring her over here. I’m meeting with all senior leadership right now.”

They all blinked in surprise, glancing at Dash before back at Spitfire.

s2.quickmeme.com/img/1c/1c88fd5b28619a056b11ad45c49ba1fc0e28a22b0064ae8207a8b5ffbd94c452.jpg

during the Ponyville tornado incident

pbs.twimg.com/media/DBb205IVYAAOhuh.jpg

“It was a bold-faced lie.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1dnqKGuezo

[sonicx]

there's an storm an brewing.... just have to wait to see how calm will play this out

[Godleon]

Descent is a horrible lair...but it's ok, he's the Shadowbolt Dad :3

[subzero]

Omg this has gotta be my fav chapter

[Lumica]

[Vinyl_ScratchPlays]

This is interesting...

Also how long is this gonna go on for? we have the sombra ark now, then the rest of the shadowbolts and THEN that random guy with the crystals...

Have we still got like 50 + Chapters with the story still?

Or is it gonna get split into a new story?

Or a side one after everything is done? like a nice little one with rainbow and soarin (if he is saved)

So many questions....... heh

[Phoenix Flight]

Ooooh, info....

Before I say anything... DISCORD TOTALLY BE CRUSHIN ON CELESTIA!!!HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHahack hack splat ded

1. Misty fly is best pony.

2. Ouch, Decent, that's gotta hurt.

3. AHHHHH DASH NEEDS SORIN AND I NEED MY OTP BACK TOGETHER

4. Gotta love the Bro-hate between Storm and Squall.

And last but not least....
prepare thyself:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!! SHADOBOLTSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (MOON DOES TOO CARE!!! INDIFFERENT MY *BEEP*

[Phoenix Flight]

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DOUBLE THE INTENSITY OF THE FANGASM!!!

And I kind of wanted to see Fire and Lightning kick the shit out of each other.

[0PinkamenaDianePie0]

Wow misty' s personality seems so innocent but when you piss her off it's like a whole different pony😂😂

[jnzsblzs]

“He’s treating the whole ideal as entertainment.”

Shouldn't this be ordeal?

[NyOs29]

So Celestia's attempt to solve a rather complex problem by simplifying it into a single solution has backfired in a big way and now everyone else is paying for it. Some leader she is.

[Soaring Soarin]

Well tempers were flaring during this chapter that's for sure

Was kinda hoping to see the twins beat the crap out of each other to blow off steam. Also finally discord spills the beans well most of them at least.

Seems there may be something coming up with Storm next chapter?

Anywho great chapter as always Calm see you in the next one.

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The dark moon rising ship grows

[Appledashery]

Moon, you confuse me

Next chapter soon!!!!!!!!!

[Jim Hoxworth]

As I said in my previous post in the warning blog: camo.derpicdn.net/04701e5fbb6db0562e6d66717c20774ab7230d54?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.postimg.org%2Fz75ualdi1%2FHope_you_have_a_diaper.png
New connections will be forged, and more breadcrumbs gathered... ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF THE WONDERCAST!!!

[Jim Hoxworth]

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Oh, he be more than crushin', if my predictions are accurate... His little "praising of the Sun", while ultimately unsuccessful for the outcome he sought, was not completely "fruitless", even though it may be a few bananas short of a cuckoo clock...

[TexasDragon1995]

Alright Calm, this was the (almost) perfect follow up chapter that I was hoping for after all the craziness of the past few chapters. I only say 'almost' simply because I WISHED we did get a bit more of Dash, but then again you say this is a two parter and my question was answered from the last chapter. That being Rainbow is more broken then James McAvoy. Of course, can't really blame her though

But I digress. This was a great chapter to take a breather on and I wholeheartedly appreciate that

And DAMN I did NOT think you would EVER bring up the whole bit where the God's have a clear understanding of Misty again from 'Flying Sky High'.

Anyway, keep up the amazing work my good man

[Those Kids In The Corner]

“Easy… easy Dash…” Star continued to sooth her as she moved her hooves to Dash’s shoulders and applied gentle pressure.

Sooth is like to find the truth or a person who does. Soothe is what your going for here.

And wow Spitty, did the fact that Sombra was the ruler of the Crystal Empire really go over your head? Though frankly with everything that's going on, I don't blame her for temporarily overlooking it until it was mentioned.

Nice to see Celestia is being as secretive as ever, and using Discord's regrets to keep said secrets. This does bring me to wonder what exactly is going to happen to her in Soarin's mindscape when his little parasite is in control. A rather enabling parasite at that.

[Easy breezey]

Well they're screwd but yeah. NEVER CROSS MISTY IF YA WANNA LIVVVEEEEEE!!!!! Amazing chapter as always can't wait for more. I'm guessing Sombra and Celly used to be a thing? IDK Poor Dashie Poor Daddy Poor everyone I swear by the end of this book,a lot of ponies needs to see a psychiatrist and maybe will have PTSD maybe RD, Soarin, Fleetfoot,pitfire seems to be holding on well.....

[Phoenix Flight]

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Was kinda hoping to see the twins beat the crap out of each other to blow off steam.

Oh good! I'm not the only one!

[Phoenix Flight]

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Oh god the famous Hoxworth predictions are eagerly devouring the breadcrumbs...

[Veyron]

well misty made my night and now I wounder if whats happening with the shadowbolts captives is linked with someone from moons past?

[blastguard]

THUMBS UP FOR MISTY FLY HERE GUYS :D!!
sorry but i couldnt resist when i saw that picture Calm..It was priceless.
craveonline.com/assets/uploads/2016/05/cover.png

[cierragp]

DAMN!!!!!! Why did you have to end it here?!!!!!!

Loved this chapter as usual, but I desperately need another. And the entire thing.

[Dusk_Writer]

Misty made my day.

I mean…this basically confirms the love triangle between Sombra, Celestia and Discord. Unless you pull a twist again and we apparently find out Discord just ate all of Celestia's pancakes and he felt very guilty.
Speaking of twists, where the bloomin' hell is Twister?!

You know, this thing with the gods remind she me of something Pinkie said in an episode, "secrets and lies! It's all secrets and lies with these ponies!"

With a bright pink Flash… Moon appeared

A pink Flash, huh? I wonder how that would look
2.bp.blogspot.com/-aGXB5M7uPqI/VQbVzjHjSTI/AAAAAAAACB8/vOAhMCaA07E/s1600/the%2Bflash%2Bwallpaper%2B11.jpg

Aww…Moon has a heart…

[Silentwoodfire]

Discords out of it, Sombras on the loose and currently has no equal in fighting, and its getting severely bleak. Worse still, he knows the identities of those who stopped him from retaking the empire before, and they're a bunch of soft targets.

[Midday Giggle]

Wrong. Everything is so fucking wrong.

My heart feels so heavy. It hurts. My precious Soarin is gone and nopony can do a thing about it.

“What are you feeling? What hurts?” Star threw out the questions, hoping to get any sort of information on her status.

“S…” Dash’s voice cracked as she tried to speak. “Soarin…” she said the only word that was on her mind.

*Heart breaking noise*

“This sure as hell took a nasty turn, huh?” he said as one of his front hooves grinded lightly against the floor. Spitfire narrowed her eyes slightly as she heard his tone, taking note of the rest at the same time. Surprise and Fleetfoot both tipped away from him as they heard his tone. Blaze wore a similar look of frustration. Air Mach and High Winds seemed indifferent, tired and fatigued. Fire held a stoic expression, looking at his brother carefully as he slowly turned to start translating for Misty. “I mean… seriously… What the hell?” Lightning continued, throwing a hoof out to his side as his lips parted and showed his gritted teeth. “What are we gonna do now? Wasn’t this our mission? Soarin’s magic? This wasn’t supposed to happen, right?!” he raised his voice at the end, the others stealing glances at one another as he his frustration boiled over and vented out. It startled some of them, but his change in usual demeanor did not overshadow the fact that he was asking the questions that were on all their minds. “We’re done, aren’t we?” Lightning continued while shaking his head. “Mission failed?”

“That’s not what I gathered,” Lightning did not back down, crossing his arms and snorting. Everypony else remained silent as the two stared each other down. “They were coming after us to get Soarin, right? That’s what they said,” Lightning pointed to both Luna and Descent. “To get what was in him. We were just in the way.”

“Like fucking what?!” she yelled as Spitfire sharply turned her eyes to her half-sister. “Oh, I’m sorry!” Blaze began rolling her eyes sarcastically. “I couldn’t quite hear you over the sound of our faces being dragged through shit for the twelve-hundredth time!” she yelled while pointing towards the door, adding her anger to Lightning’s as the two faced down Spitfire. “What are we going to do now? Circle up, hold hooves, and sit through another motivational speech before diving head long into MORE shit?! It SURE worked the past I-don’t-even-know thousand times!”

Gotta say... They have a point...

“Is that even a word?!”

Misty parted her lips to show her teeth jammed shut. Discord’s jaw dropped and his eyes twitched, giving her a very disturbed look.

“You’ll… do what?!” his face suddenly contorted, wincing to the point where his eyes almost crossed. “That’s… absolutely horrifying! What kind of sick and twisted imagination runs through your head?! I…” he winced harder. “NO! I DON’T CARE IF I’M A DRACONEQUUS! I DON’T BEND THAT WAY EITHER! Can we stop talking about this!? You’re going to make me vomit!”

I couldn't help but laugh at the hilarious things Misty could be 'saying' to Discord.

“The Wonderbolts were on the front lines of every major battle,” Blazetail continued. “I had to send some of my most cherished brothers and sisters headlong into the thick of things on countless occasions. Every single time I worried that it would be last time I ever saw their faces. And… every once in a while, that was the unfortunate case.” He paused and took a long, deep breath, sighing. “And wouldn’t you know it, but I hesitated all the time. I thought just like you are now. My hesitation was out of concern for those I held responsibility for, but you know what? Sometimes my hesitation led to problems, sometimes even deaths whether it be allies or my own Wonderbolts. I even had one old veteran that branded me for it,” Blazetail smirked and chuckled. “He’d tell me to pull my head out of my ass and get my shit together. Hell, sometimes he even gave split second orders in my place. Back then the Wonderbolts tended to listen to him more than me anyway.”

GUEES WHO IS HE TALKING ABOUT!

“Always fear for those you lead, but don’t let that fear overpower the trust you have in them.

Oh wow... That was so Silver like... I miss him... Very much...

“Of course,” she said with a firm nod. “Soarin is my friend. He’s my best friend. There are emotions in play for me that shouldn’t be, but I can only acknowledge them or ignore them. I’m acknowledging them. I want to save him no matter what, but… if we can’t, we have to do what’s best for Equestria. Our duty as Wonderbolts is to fly into the face of the irregular and unknown,” she reached up a hoof and gripped Blazetail’s on her chest. “If we can’t save him… then we will do what we must,” she glanced at Dash. “Even if it comes at a high price.”

High prize = Dash probably emotionally collapsing or dying

“We can save him…right?” Fleetfoot pressed, her light grip on Spitfire’s arm tightening as she bit her lower lip and looked at her with wide eyes.

Oh, please Calm. Are you really using her as a way of breaking my heart once again? (I'm just sad, not mad in any way)

With a bright pink Flash… Moon appeared. He was standing calmly right in front of the central pillar, and stepped forward to speak, but…

The lobby was suddenly thrown into uproar. Gasps and screams blared throughout as ponies who had yet to encounter him either backed up or stepped forward to protect the injured. The thestrals forced themselves up, hissing and screeching as their eyes glowed bright yellow. Even P.L. finally seemed to snap out of it, standing up in surprise as a Shadowbolt appeared so close to Luna. He fell right back down the moment he tried, but he kept trying to get back up. Moon lifted his brow as everypony reacted to him. His eyes widening slightly and his crystals lifting up in front of him as several around him began to show signs of hostility.

At ease everypony! It's just our dear friend Moony!

"Nice communication,” he commented with a faint tone of sarcasm. “You haven’t told your force about me?”

Hmm... Let's see Moon...

Spitfire: Wonderbolts! There's an announcement I have to make! Shadowbolt Commander Moon is giving us information about the Shadowbolts and helping us scape. If you see him walking around or suddenly appearing in the middle of the room, just bring him to me inmediately. That's all. Thanks for your attention.

Do you think it could go well?

“What the hell is going on? What happened to Nightshade?! Did you know about Sombra being inside Soarin?!” she fired off the questions rapidly.

“I’m working on figuring that out, I don’t know, and no,”

Dear God, I love Moon...

“Where are you about to go?” Moon persisted with the indirectness anyway. Spitfire scrunched her face, reluctantly playing along.

“We’re going to the Crystal Empire.”

Moon said nothing. He just stared directly into her eyes.

“What?” Spitfire growled quietly. Moon sighed.

“Who once ruled the Crystal Empire?” he asked condescendingly.

Actually... That makes sense but it's kinda harder than that...

Sombra was an 'Umbrum', a creature made of shadows. The Umbrums fear the love, that's why they fear the Crystal Heart. But now Cadence is ruling the Crystal Empire, she's related to Princess Amore (the first Princess of the Empire and the one Sombra turned to dark crystal and then shattered in a million pieces that spreaded all over Equestria) and the Empire is so full of love that Sombra, or any Umbrum for that matter, would be able to get in it... So Soarin/Sombra would have a problem getting in there even if he wanted.

“Get moving quickly,” Moon finished her thought for her. “I’ve no doubt that the Crystal Empire is heavily fortified and not in immediate danger due to your letter to Princess Cadence, but I’d still waste no time.”

“Wait,” Spitfire shook her head out. “How did you know about the letter?”

Just... How the hell Moon knows everything about the Wonderbolts? Was he stalking them all the time or what?

you help me?” Fleetfoot hobbled over to High Winds.

“Fuck off, she’s mine,” Blaze grumbled, just blurting out the first thing that came to mind, but High Winds yawned and nodded to Fleetfoot.

“Sure… grab on…” she opened a wing and offered it to Fleetfoot, Fleet grabbing it with a hoof as Winds began leading her.

“HEY!” Blaze yelled, wobbling as she followed. “The fuck did I just say?!”

You had to do it... I wouldn't be you if didn't do it...

Okay... That was quite something...

I HAVE A TEORY!

*Clears throat* Before the whole Sombra-King-of-the-Empire thing happened, Celestia and Sombra fell in love. They knew they couldn't be together, but Celestia, once she and Luna defeated Sombra, took (In a weird, alicorny-shit like way) Sombra's soul and stored it inside herself, so she could reform him later when she found the correct time. But then the whole Kayn Ost thing happened and she found herself in the 'obligation' of forming a 'Champion', as Discord called it. Things got out of her control and bla bla bla, we all know all the crap that happened then.

Anyway. Discord was so against everything for one simple reason: Jealously. He was jealous because Celestia still loved Sombra... And Discord was in love with Celestia. But he is so in love with her that he just wasn't able to do something about it. And those are his 'personal reason' not to tell everypony everything.

Well then. That's it.

Great job Calm, I'm looking forward to next chapter and to know exactly what Moon thinks to do with the Shadowbolts.

And as always, you have me at the edge of my seat.

And... I think maybe at the end of PTH I'll be crying...

[Calm Wind]

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FALCON PAWNCH

[Calm Wind]

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SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIT

[Calm Wind]

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Storm is always a'brewin

[Calm Wind]

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Descent is best secret daddy

[Calm Wind]

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Glad you like it!

[Calm Wind]

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[Calm Wind]

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[Calm Wind]

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This is still technically arc three which started in chapter 71. Due to how long it's become i feel like i should have separated this arc into two arcs around chapter 100.

The way it is right now (arc 3) this arc only has one more major event before it concludes and then there is going to be a 4th arc.

[Calm Wind]

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But we all know Moon... he will not do something without a strong reason nudging him in a certain direction, so i wonder what pushed him here?

[Calm Wind]

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Yep, she's one of the sweetest adorable members of the Wonderbolts until you cross her... then you better run

[Calm Wind]

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whoops. fixed, thanks

[Calm Wind]

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The gods can't do anything right, eh?

[Calm Wind]

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The twins could use a good scrap, eh?

Thanks dude!

[Calm Wind]

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Mysterious as... the darkside of... THE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo...okay i'll stop

[Calm Wind]

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I always felt like this chapter turned out very well glad you enjoyed it

[Calm Wind]

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I dunno, you may want to wait till 148 before you start vomiting rainbows

[Calm Wind]

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Dash is more or less completely out of it with here body and soul stretched thin spiritually. There will be some more focus on her in 148, but not too much, there will be more going forward though

And while you're right about Misty from Flying Sky High, an instance of Discord communicating with her verbally already happened once in PTH early in part 2

[Calm Wind]

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Ah thanks for the correction.

And yes, Celestia seemed to have this all figured out, even the other gods were not in on it, but what a catastrophe she's forced upon herself, eh?

[Calm Wind]

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thanks!

(Misty is one quiet bundle of rage is you make her angry )

[Calm Wind]

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I guess we'll find out... or will we?Moon does like to be mysterious after all

[Calm Wind]

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SHE IS THE GREATEST. SHE IS A BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD MARE!

[Calm Wind]

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WOuld have been too long if i didnt cut it off there I will do my best to make the next update speedy

[Calm Wind]

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Twister is in your closet, cooking brunch for all the antelopes you keep in there