Chapter 148: The Real Enemy...? (Part 2)
MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 148: The Real Enemy…? (Part 2)
“Ah… AH!” Dash suddenly lurched forward, nearly collapsing on the floor in front of her. If not for Matteo quickly reaching out and scooping his talons beneath her stomach, she would have landed face first.
Hooves skidded to a halt, Squall, Storm, and Little Star all stopping quickly and looking to Dash as Matteo gently picked her back up, supporting her as she held both of her front hooves to her chest and twitched. She was sweating, her eyes were slammed shut, and her breaths were quick and short.
“Dash!” Star called out her name and turned. It was the third time she had rushed up to Dash since they entered the barracks hallway. Squall and Storm both remained still, Squall glancing over his shoulder briefly to see the last of the group they were following enter the last room where they were keeping the Shadowbolts.
“Ow…” Dash managed to vocalize as she winced several times, her eyes squeaking open. She slowly removed one of her hooves and placed it back on the ground, trying to find her balance again. Star touched Dash’s hoof gently, just in case she needed help, but the look in her eyes broke her heart.
“Maybe… we should take her to bed so she can lie down instead…” Star suggested, looking up to Matteo. But before Matteo could agree or disagree, Dash grabbed his talons on her stomach with her other hoof and slowly tugged on them while keeping her eyes locked on the other end of the hallway.
“Her mind seems made up,” said Matteo, as Star pouted at him.
“Matty, drop the loyalty act,” she huffed. “We can’t let her exert herself like this.”
“Then you take her,” Matteo answered unemotionally. “I’m only following her desire.”
“But…” Star blinked as she looked to Dash. “She… we… hrrmmmmm…” she hummed, frowning and groaning with dissatisfaction.
“Can we get moving?” Squall suddenly chimed in. “I don’t want to miss any of this.” He motioned to the back of the hallway.
“Squall, really?” Star spun around and glared at him. She blinked and glanced at Storm, who was conspicuously averting his eyes. “Storm… you too?” she asked incredulously as she stared at the two of them.
“And now she’s pulling me,” Matteo spoke up, Star yelping and quickly stepping aside as Dash suddenly growled, and tried to throw herself forward. Her hooves weakly scraped against the floor as Matteo moved with her. Star tilted her head and lifted an eyebrow.
“Matty, you weigh like, six hundred pounds, she’s not pulling you, you’re letting her,” she pointed out. “Don’t tell me you’re agreeing with these guys too!”
“I admit I do wish to know more,” he confirmed while letting Dash pull him along. “And I only weigh four hundred pounds, thank you.”
“Fine…” Star sighed as she fell in behind, moving up beside Dash to keep her steady as Matteo continued to assisted her.
Obviously, there was a lot of focus on Rainbow Dash. None of them knew what was wrong with her, or the extent to which she had been ‘damaged’ so to speak. She seemed ghostly, weak, and frail, but still functioning to a certain degree. She had improved a little since they had returned, walking a little on her own, but there was clearly something wrong with her head. She kept muttering Soarin’s name in between grunts of pain, but never answered their prompts for what she was seeing or feeling.
But as they moved closer to the end of the hall, Storm suddenly looked back and glanced between every member of Foxtrot.
“So none of you are even the slightest bit curious…?” he asked as he got looks from Matteo and Star, but not Squall.
“About what?” Star asked. Storm flattened his brow like it should be obvious.
“Where is Twister?” he asked anyway, expecting some sort of reaction, but it wasn’t what he expected. Star only sighed and flattened her brow. Matteo just kept looking as he helped Dash along. “Nopony?” Storm tipped his head slightly, looking between the two of them.
“I couldn’t give less of a shit if I tried,” Squall spoke up gruffly. “I don’t need to deal with that dumbass right now.”
“Sheesh, Squall,” Storm snorted. “Tell us how you really feel.”
“If I do, he’ll probably pop in out of nowhere and annoy the crap out of me,” Squall grunted. “And he better stay away until I’ve had a nap or something because this all blows enough without him.”
“He’s not wrong…” Star chimed in. “He does this all the time, and frankly… I’ve stopped thinking about it. He lives by his own rules… and his own reality.”
“He’ll show up eventually,” Matteo took over. “He always does…” Matteo trailed off, his eyes opening slight wider for a moment. “Wait… is he in my fur… or on my back right now?”
Star quickly glanced over her shoulder while stepping back from Dash, looking Mateo’s body over.
“Nope,” she answered simply.
“That’s a first…” Matteo grunted.
“Stop talking about him please,” Squall growled. “The more we do, the more likely he’ll surprise us out of nowhere.”
“Well then…” Storm found himself unable to hold in a chuckle. “That’s some tough love…”
They stopped as they reached the end of the hallway, Storm and Squall standing in front of the door and waiting for Star and Matteo to bring Dash forward.
Dash was staring right at the door, not giving Squall or Storm a single look as her silent desire to go through and see what was going on spoke for itself.
Matteo gave Storm a nod and Storm opened the door.
Spitfire kept her eyes on Moon as he walked forward, separating himself from the others and slowly pacing around. Members of Bliss’ staff glance up and moved aside, some confused, some worried as a Shadowbolt suddenly walked among them.
The initial worry had passed the moment they saw him walking with those they trusted, but they were not sure what to think otherwise. He wasn’t being restrained, and now he was walking free among them.
Spitfire let him take his time as he stopped in the center and glanced about. Her interest was clearly set on one particular occupant of the beds, but Moon had walked right past Wave near the entrance along with a few of the other Shadowbolts before he started looking around.
The rest of the top tier Wonderbolts were all gathered behind Spitfire, Descent, Starry Skies, and Lightning Dust sitting further forward with her. Spitfire perked up as she heard the door open behind them all. She looked over her shoulder to see Squall and Storm walk in, followed closely behind by Star and Matteo carrying Dash.
They all froze as Spitfire’s eyes landed on them.
Spitfire lifted an eyebrow, quickly understanding. She gave them all a subtle head motion to come in before returning her focus to Moon. She didn’t mind having them along. She made it clear Dash was a part of this.
“So…” Moon finally spoke up as he turned around and made his way back towards them, glancing back and forth a few more times as he moved. “This is what you’ve been keeping back here. I assumed they were all killed or deserted during your escape…”
Spitfire watched his eyes carefully. They remained stoic, but there was some emotion, some feeling in them. None of it made it into his face or expression, but he couldn’t hide it. He clearly recognized several faces, and the Shadowbolts who were able to see well enough clearly recognized him. The crystal formations growing upon all their bodies had gotten worse, some of them were almost completely covered by at least small crystals with large pieces jutting out here and there. Some had their eyes covered, some were hooked up to portable respirators to help them breath. Some were hooked up to IV tubes due to their mouths being covered.
Spitfire wondered why Moon suddenly asked to see them now. She had brought them up briefly the last time he was here, after all. What changed? Or did he not even pay attention? Based on his words just now, it sounded like he didn’t even know.
“They’re lucky—” Moon suddenly added as he stopped in front of them again, floating his three crystals around and clumping them together as he looked into their opaque surface. “—If this was all they got for losing a single crystal.”
Spitfire furrowed her brow, not quite sure how to feel about his comment, but Descent made his thoughts clear quickly.
“That’s a rather disgusting way to put it,” he snorted while glaring at Moon. Moon glanced away from his crystals towards Descent while tilting his head slightly.
“Do you disagree?” he asked as his crystal returned to orbit around him. “Perhaps I should ask Trance and Witch?”
Descent immediately flinched, pulling his neck back as his eyes went wide and he gasped. Everypony else looked to him quickly, all caught off guard by Moon’s harsh bluntness.
“HEY!” Starry Skies yelled out loudly as she immediately rushed in front of Descent. “SERIOUSLY?!” she glared as hard as her eyes allowed while snarling. She took a harsh step forward and shoved a hoof into Moon’s chest. He slid backwards an inch, but halted in place as a pink glow surrounded him. He completely ignored her as he kept his eyes locked with Descent’s. “That was absolutely uncalled for!” she kept yelling in defense of Descent.
“That doesn’t change the fact,” Moon calmly replied, still not looking at her.
“Ugh!” Starry tried to push him backwards, but he held in place, her effort pushing her back slightly instead. “You’re such an asshole! None of us knew that would happen!” she pointed at Descent. “Do you have any idea how much it hurt him?!” Starry Skies continued to speak out for Descent, surprising a few of them around her. They knew her loyalty to him, but this was twice now in a short period of time and it sounded very personal.
Moon glanced between Starry and Descent a few times, but continued to show no emotional response.
“Then I hope he learned his lesson,” Moon added.
The look upon Starry’s face was akin to embodiment of fury itself as her eyes grew wide and she lifted her hooves to strike Moon. But she was stopped in place as Lightning Dust quickly rushed forward and hooked an arm with hers to hold her in place.
“Starry! Stop!” Dust pleaded as she barely held against Starry’s superior strength. “Not in here!” she grunted as she jammed her back hooves into the ground, the members of Bliss’ staff backing away as the quarrelling continued in the center.
“LET GO OF ME!” Starry yelled at Dust without breaking her eyes from Moon. “I’m going to rip that stumpy mane right off his head and shove it up his ass!”
Spitfire, also fearing an escalation in close quarters among the wounded, decided to lend Dust a hoof, moving up and grabbing Starry’s other shoulder.
“Starry, calm down,” she said sternly.
“FUCK YOU!” Starry snapped as she whipped her eyes from Moon to Spitfire, baring her teeth and glaring so hard that her eyes were twitching. She suddenly shifted her weight, pressing a hoof to Spitfire’s chest instead as she nearly yanked Lightning Dust right off her hooves. “What the hell do YOU know?!” she barked, Spitfire squinting as bits of saliva sprayed from Starry’s mouth onto her face. “How about you go and do it?!” she pointed at the group of top tier Wonderbolts sitting behind them. “Go on! Surprise and Blaze?! Misty or Fleetfoot?! How about you make it even and pick the twins?!”
Spitfire’s eyes went wide as Starry got right in her face.
“WELL?! GO ON! GO KILL TWO OF YOUR OWN WONDERBOLTS AND SEE HOW IT FEELS!”
“Starry Skies.”
Starry flinched and exhaled loudly, expected words from her mouth becoming nothing but a harsh breath followed by the loud hissing of air in between her teeth as she continued to heave in an out angrily.
“That’s enough,” Descent ordered as he placed a hoof firmly on her back, causing her to stop shaking the instant he applied the pressure. All eyes except for Starry’s went to Descent as he held her steady. He looked disturbed, but not shaken as he held a serious look on his face. “I appreciate you defending me, but Moon is right. That’s how it happened. I killed them. Whether I meant to or not is not important.”
Starry’s back legs slowly lowered her plot to the floor as she came down from the peak of her anger. She eventually sat, grumbling to herself as she looked down at the floor.
“Dammit, Descent… can I just… punch him please?” she asked among the mumbling.
“No,” Descent quickly put it to rest as Starry continued to sulk in place. Descent returned his focus to Moon as he once again began glancing about, this time taking in the view of those afflicted behind them, closer to where they came in.
He suddenly stopped and blinked as he looked to the right of the door.
“What…?” he tipped his head curiously. Spitfire perked up as she realized who was behind them. Moon was already moving by her, but she turned and looked, as did the rest, as Moon made his way over to Wave Chill.
Everypony’s interest was quickly piqued. The way Moon moved and his initial reaction suggested… confusion. Everypony shifted to watch, but Spitfire got up and followed behind him.
Moon stopped and stared down at Wave Chill, the soft blue glow of Luna’s magic encircling him as he took long, labored breaths, the crystals covering half his face and a good portion of the right side of his chest down his stomach. Moon looked back and forth, examining Wave up and down.
“How… did this happen?” Moon asked quizzically. Everypony exchanged glances as Spitfire slowly moved up beside him.
“He’s the one you guys captured, remember?” said Spitfire as she stopped beside him, looking over Wave Chill and holding strong the best she could.
“I know that,” Moon shook his head. “But how does he have the same affliction?”
Spitfire felt a weight in the pit of her stomach as Moon expressed confusion. Her hopes that he may be of some help began to fade, but she clung to it just in case.
“Ruin was torturing him,” she explained.
“I am aware of that as well, but…” Moon looked over Wave very carefully. “What happened, how did this come about?”
“He was exposed to the crystals, right?” Spitfire asked as she looked over her shoulder towards Fire Streak. “Fire, give him the details,” she ordered. Fire stood up and dragged his hooves as he moved towards them, stopping on the other side of Moon.
“He was restrained to a wall and had a few crystals hovering around him,” Fire recalled the horrific sight. “The crystals were emitting concentrated beams of light that were burning his skin and fur.” He pointed to the crystal formations. “The placing of the crystals shows where the beams of light were concentrated, they almost looked like they were drawing lines on him, leaving precisely placed and painful looking burn scars.”
Moon listened carefully, his ears tipping back and forth as Fire gave his recount of their infiltration that he helped them with. But he showed no signs of understanding what Fire was describing.
“That’s… strange,” Moon spoke up as Fire and Spitfire glanced at one another. “Just being exposed to the light shouldn’t have caused this, at least… I’ve never seen it have this effect before.” One of his crystals floated up in front of his face and he stared into it. “This doesn’t make any sense… and I’ve just about figured out everything these are capable of…” he trailed off and looked down upon Wave again. “Wave Chill was in no way dependent on the crystals, which is a requirement for this negative effect to happen,” he spoke his thoughts as he glanced at Starry, Descent and Lightning Dust. “How?” Moon asked nopony as he looked back down at Wave. “How did Ruin do this?”
It was at that moment that Spitfire lost any hope. She sighed as she looked away from Moon and down towards Wave, the sight drilling a hole right through her as she watched him struggle to breath. Every moment he suffered, she suffered too. She cared for all of her Wonderbolts, but on a deeply personal level all she wanted was to help him, to save him. Was she wrong to hope Moon could simply fix everything?
She looked up to see Blaze and High Winds help each other over to the other side of the bed. Blaze resting her chin on the mattress as High Winds gently rubbed her shoulder. Both of them had their eyes locked on Wave.
It was just as hard for them as it was for Spitfire. Perhaps worse. For all their bickering and bluster, Blaze and High Winds were still tightly knit with their squad members… with Wave and now Silver down too, they had to be feeling lost.
“Hm…” Moon hummed, drawing Spitfire’s attention back to him as he turned and began walking away from Wave. “Hmmmmm…” he hummed louder and longer as he looked around at the rest of the afflicted, at the magic helping stabilize them, and at all the staff members rushing about trying to make them all comfortable against something they didn’t understand. He stopped when he reached the middle of the room, then glanced over his shoulder back at Wave for a few moments.
Spitfire watched him carefully, as did the rest as Moon paced about, deep in thought. They were all desperate to know what was on his mind. Something… anything… they just wanted to know whatever he knew.
Moon did not make eye contact with a single Wonderbolt or Renegade. He only looked into the eyes of the afflicted Shadowbolts staring at him or at least those whose eyes were uncovered. Every pair of eyes pleaded to him, they reached out with desperation in the only way they could. He slowly brought the crystal floating by his head in front of his face again, lowering it and looking down into it. The surface shimmered as it gently emitted its soft pink glow. The glow grew softer, clearing until he could clearly see his own reflection in its surface. He stared into his own eyes as he remained lost in thought.
“Look into your own eyes…” he suddenly whispered quietly. All ears turned to him, but were barely able to make out any of it. “And ask yourself… if…” he trailed off, slamming his eyes shut and taking a long, deep breath.
Everypony flinched in surprise as the glow surrounding him grew brighter, Moon’s lips parted revealing his teeth as he released a soft growl. The light surrounding his crystal grew incredibly bright, a stream of light appearing between him and the crystal. His growls turned to groans as he grabbed the crystal and began pulling it away from him, the light connecting the two of them straining and thinning as the crystal began to screech and shudder.
“RGGGHHHH-AHHHHH!” Moon cried out, a loud noise similar to a snap mixed with a shatter echoed throughout the room, a very weak pulse of air ejecting from his body as the light connecting the crystal to him ripped in two. “Grhhhhh… ahhhh… hrghhhh…” Moon gasped and panted as he lurched forward and nearly fell, the crystal dropping from his hoof and clattering to the floor.
“MOON?!” Descent spoke out as everypony else reacted with confused shock. None of them knew what he just did, but it looked painful. The confusion was quickly replaced by alarm… as small crystal flakes began appearing on Moon’s arms and legs, slowly reaching up his body. The formations shattered before they could grow much, but it sparked horrific gasps nonetheless.
“What are you—?!” Starry tried to start, but Moon stood right up, visibly struggling, but holding strong none the less as his two other crystals began circling him fiercely. A clearly weaker version of his telekinesis appeared around the crystal on the floor and slowly lifted it into the air.
“Everypony…” he spoke, his voice raspy and filled with pain. “Please step back from them.”
Nopony moved, but Spitfire felt her heart jump in her chest. She quickly looked back at Wave and then around the room at the entire medical staff.
“Do as he says!” she ordered suddenly and eagerly. “Now!” she added as she backed away from Wave, Fire, Blaze, and High Winds doing the same. The medical staff instantly complied, ceasing their use of magic and backing away from all the Shadowbolts, most of them making their way past Moon and over to where the Wonderbolts sat in fear of what was going to happen.
Moon slowly lifted the free crystal into the air, his body shuddering and legs buckling as he fought to hold himself up against the small formations creeping upon him. The crystal spun slowly in the air, the light around it growing brighter as it shuddered harder. Moon briefly glanced around him in a full circle, taking note of every single Shadowbolt, including Wave. He refocused on the crystal, his eyes glowing brightly as his other two crystals stopped orbiting him and pointed their tips towards the detached crystal.
A focused beam of pink light fired from both, shooting towards the detached one. The light encircled the crystal, a loud screeching noise coming from it as it began to chip and crack, leaving openings in its surface.
Everypony watched with interest as slow, oozing streams of light began to seep out of the chipped openings in the crystal, the streams extending outward from it and reaching in several directions across the room. At first it seemed like the streams were moving at random, but as they kept going, everypony slowly realized that each stream was reaching out towards one of the afflicted pegasi… Including Wave Chill.
Spitfire’s mouth hung slightly agape, her eyes following the stream of light that slowly hovered right by her, turning her head to follow it until it touched Wave.
The pink light joined with the blue of Luna’s magic, passing right through it and encircling Wave. Spitfire blinked, quickly glancing about as the same thing happened to the Shadowbolts.
Everypony’s eyes widened as the formations upon the Shadowbolts… began to crackle and chip. They all held their breath in anticipation as they began to crumble very, very slowly. The Shadowbolts began to gasp and twitch, sighs of relief or comfort releasing from their throats as pieces of crystal began to fall off and shatter.
Spitfire spun around and stared at Wave Chill. She felt all the breath leave her lungs as she lifted onto the tips of her hooves.
The crystals on Wave’s body began to chip and break just like the Shadowbolts. Her heartbeat quickened with excitement, the corners of her lips turning up as a large chunk of crystal that was covering half of Wave’s face broke off, revealing his face in full.
The crystals kept chipping away and shattering, the affliction slowly receding to the point where nearly half of what had grown was gone.
But… before they could all get too excited…
“AHHHH!” Moon cried out, falling to the floor with his crystals dropping with him. The single detached crystal above him broke in half, the two pieces vaporizing as its energy exploded around it and turned it to dust that sprinkled down to the ground before disappearing without a trace.
Just like that, the streams of light faded and the pull back and breaking of the crystal affliction upon the ponies halted.
They were not free from the horrific spread, but they had all been rid of at least half of what was upon them, if not more. The collective sighs and breaths of relief filled the air, passing around all of the Shadowbolts as if a great weight and pain have been alleviated.
“AH… ha….” Moon panted as he pushed himself off the floor, the clinking and clattering of crystal bits falling from his body ringing out as the formations failed to cover him.
Spitfire was glancing back and forth between Wave and Moon. She quickly rushed towards Wave, putting her hooves up on the bed and frantically looking him over. She could see so much more of him, he was breathing normally, and he looked comfortable, the pain gone from his face as he slowly opened his eyes and glanced towards Spitfire. A smile immediately curled onto his lips as he saw her.
There was still crystal formation on him, but they were only on his body, not on his face, and they were considerably smaller.
Spitfire quickly reached out, touching a hoof to Wave’s cheek and gently brushing it against his face. He sighed as he felt her soft touch, but didn’t speak, likely because he was still getting his breath back.
Words could not describe how happy Spitfire suddenly felt, she almost forgot all about Soarin for a moment. It was such a shock to her system that her thoughts were colliding at high speed. The top tier Wonderbolts all flocked to Wave, surrounding his bed quickly and all putting their hooves up on the mattress. Blaze and High Winds nearly knocked Spitfire right out of the way as they hopped up, both of them staring in awe. Spitfire stepped back, letting them all take a look as Wave visually acknowledged all of them, and even gave a weak wave with one of his hooves.
Spitfire wanted to stay beside him, but she let the Wonderbolts all share the relief of seeing improvement in Wave.
So instead, she shifted her attention to Moon, who was still standing and catching his breath. Descent and Starry both thundered past him to see the effect Moon’s magic had on the Shadowbolts up close. Only Lightning Dust stopped to check on him, but he waved her on the moment she tried to help.
Spitfire reluctantly pulled herself away from Wave to approach Moon.
“What did you just do…?” she asked. She meant to say ‘thank you’ first, but her curiosity and excitement overpowered her manners. Moon struggled to turn, his face and body twitching as he slowly faced her, prompting Spitfire to also wish she had asked if he was alright first.
“I… used one of my crystals to ease their pain a little. I can’t stop what’s happening to them, but this should make them more comfortable,” Moon explained as he exhaled and let his head tip down, taking long, harsh breaths.
Spitfire looked him up and down, taking note of the tiny crystals that were building up and breaking upon his body. The sight made her shudder, reminding her of the shocking sight of Wave Chill the first time she saw the crystals on him.
“Moon…” Descent’s voice caught their ears. They both looked up to see Descent approaching with Lightning Dust beside him, indicating she had pulled him away to make sure Moon was fine. Starry was still moving among the Shadowbolts behind them. “Are you… going to be alright?” Descent asked out of concern as he too took note of the crystal formations creeping and crackling about his body.
“I will be fine,” Moon answered, unable to hide a painful tone. “Thanks to Shadow… I learned that we are able to survive with two crystals. It isn’t pleasant, but it still works.”
“That still seems dangerous…” Descent also looked upon the formations, bad memories surfacing. He would never forget watching former wing mates suffer the gruesome fate… as Moon reminded him just a moment ago.
“I’ll live, I just need to get back and obtain another to stabilize it,” Moon explained calmly. “It’s a small price to pay. This should buy them more time while you figure out a way to rid them of the crystal dependency.”
Spitfire looked around at all the Shadowbolts again, thinking about Moon’s explanation just now and the magic she witnessed. She blinked as realization hit her.
“Wait… so…” she tipped her head to the side. “You basically just gave them MORE?” she asked with concern. She was definitely pleased by the results, but… how was giving them more going to help the problem? Moon shook his head.
“It was either that or let them suffer,” he put bluntly. “I’m sure you’d rather they don’t go through that, especially your commander.” He made a brief head motion towards Wave. “It may not be ideal, but they WILL last longer.”
Spitfire definitely didn’t like the means… but Moon’s logic made sense. She glanced over her shoulder towards Wave her eyes widening slightly as she saw the top tiers moving apart, giving Wave a line of sight to her as he turned his head and smiled.
“It’s just a cushion for them,” Moon added as he took another deep breath. “I’ll leave figuring out the cure… up to you.”
“Thank you, Moon,” said Descent gratefully, showing his gratitude as Starry Skies finally pulled herself away from the Shadowbolts and made her way up beside him, giving Moon a curious look. Her demeanor had done a full one-eighty, calm and relaxed after being so hot headed and angry just a few minutes ago.
“So… why did you decide to do this?” she asked. “You’re always talking about your own agenda. How does this line up with it?”
Moon looked away from her as the question caught the interest of the rest. She had a point. Moon NEVER gave any indication that he was doing anything for anypony but himself and his own goals. This was quite a sudden shift.
“I… have my reasons…” he dodged the question entirely. Starry flattened her brow.
“Reasons you can tell us or more of your mysterious crap?” she asked rather sharply.
“Starry…” Descent gave her a flat look while pressing a hoof to her shoulder. Moon paused as he glanced back at the two of them.
“It’s nothing important,” he dodged the question again as he turned and his two remaining crystals began to glow and circle him. “It’s not only about what I want…” Everypony around him perked up as a pink glow began to surround him and glow brighter. “It’s… what she would have wanted.”
Descent’s ears stood up and his eyes opened wide.
“She?!”
Moon said no more as the pink light surrounded him entirely.
“Moon, wait!” Descent tried to reach for him, but he never had a chance. Moon vanished entirely, everypony shielding their eyes as a bright pink flash of light filled the room before fizzling out.
Spitfire and Descent slowly uncovered their eyes and looked around, realizing that Moon was long gone. Their eyes met for a moment, both processing what they had just heard before he vanished, but before any words could be uttered or anything else could happen, the doors to the barracks swung open.
“Captain~!” Lead Runner’s voice met their ears as he sauntered in, Blazetail and Flashwind following behind him. “We finished roll call!”
Spitfire perked up. While her interest in Moon and what he had done was readily present in her head, she could not deny the importance of the situation at hoof.
“We have finished ours as well,” Flashwind chimed in. “And Luna gave us her report to pass to you.”
“Good, good…” Spitfire turned to them as many of the top tiers managed to tear themselves from Wave’s side to listen in, squad Foxtrot, who had been quietly watching everything, also moved forward, bringing Dash up close.
“What the…?” Blazetail blinked as he looked around and noticed all of the Shadowbolts and Wave. “What happened in here? How did—?”
“I’ll explain later, sir,” Spitfire quickly addressed him. “Now please, report,” she stated while glancing at Lead Runner, but she also wanted to know about the rest. Descent sat beside her, very interested in the state of his own force as well.
“Captain, I’m VERY pleased to tell you,” Lead Runner bowed his head slightly into a faint nod. “That we suffered no casualties. Everypony is accounted for.
Spitfire blinked.
“None?” she asked, hoping she heard him correctly. Lead Runner nodded again, a little more enthusiastically.
“Zero, zip, nadda,” he confirmed, a rush of relief passing through not only her, but also the rest of the Wonderbolts.
Spitfire was admittedly shocked. Nothing had ever hit them as hard as Sombra controlling Soarin… not even Nightshade or the Shadowbolts. To know that they had all survived such incredibly powerful hits was a miracle.
“I’m… relieved to hear that,” Spitfire said with a loud sigh, speaking for everypony among her ranks. “Captains? What about the rest?” she asked as Descent listened closely. But it took them a moment, perhaps because they too were reacting to the news of no Wonderbolts going down.
“Uh… Wow…” Flashwind chuckled.
“What?” Spitfire blinked, tipping her head.
“Then we got out of it without a single death…” she elaborated.
Spitfire’s jaw dropped, everypony else sharing similar shock.
“Wait…” Spitfire lifted a hoof. “You mean… nopony died?”
“Correct,” Blazetail nodded. “All Renegades are accounted for, and the Lunar Guard is still all with us.”
Silence washed over all of them.
Spitfire was still trying to wrap her head around it. She was relieved that Nightshade’s solo assault had not taken any Wonderbolts from them… but she couldn’t believe, despite having power beyond anything they had ever seen… Sombra, the Mad King of legend, did not kill any of them? She saw how hard he was hitting them. She took a blow herself. He was fierce, ruthless in his attacks…
Or was he?
“He didn’t kill any of us?” Descent spoke out, showing similar disbelief while holding an arm over his injured midsection. “Really?” he added as he looked around at everypony, sharing their confusion.
“That’s… unbelievable…” Spitfire spoke her mind. “How? I thought for sure, after what we saw him do, that we’d lose some ponies. But none?” she was happy about it for sure, but again, it was hard to fathom.
The top tier Wonderbolts made their way up to Spitfire, all sharing her thoughts as they processed it all. Fire Streak stepped up and sat down beside Spitfire.
“Did he hold back…?” he asked, looking around, his eyes stopping on Descent as he cringed hard.
“I don’t know if that makes me feel any better…” Descent grunted in slight jest, rubbing his stomach gingerly.
Nopony knew what to make of it. Nopony except for Starry Skies who thought about what happened to her specifically.
“I don’t think he wanted to kill us…” Starry suddenly chimed in, drawing all eyes to her. The room went silent for a moment, everypony giving her varying looks of surprise or confusion. “If he did, I’d be long gone,” Starry went on. “I stood right between him and Descent after he took him down, but he didn’t attack me.”
“I… remember that,” said Spitfire as she recalled the exact moment, looking Starry Skies up and down and taking note of how she was without any new injuries. “Didn’t he swing his sword though?”
“He did,” Starry nodded, her jaw and chin twitching lightly. “But he didn’t hit me, he stopped it right in front of my face and tilted my head up with the tip of the sword. I didn’t move a muscle, who knows what he would have done if I did.”
“You didn’t move a…” Spitfire suddenly trailed off, blinking several times as her eyes grew wide and her jaw slowly dropped.
“What?” Starry tilted her head slightly as everypony else looked to Spitfire curiously.
“Hold on… hold on…” Spitfire suddenly took a step back while holding out a hoof. “Just… give me a second here,” she waved her hoof in a circle before suddenly breaking eye contact and walking in small circles.
“What are you—?”
“SHUT IT!” Spitfire snapped at Descent, cutting him off before returning to her thoughts. “Hmmm…” she thought back to everything that happened after Soarin was taken over. “Hmmmmmmmmmmmm…” she hummed as she recalled every detail she could. They were scattered due to the shock of the outcome, but she slowly fit pieces into place, remembering everything she saw little bits at a time.
She suddenly stopped mid stride, looked up, and glanced back and forth as if looking for somepony. Everypony else looked about as she did, but little did they know, she was looking to see if somepony was NOT present.
Spitfire stopped when she realized that Luna had not followed them. Something that should have been obvious due to Luna’s noticeable presence, but she was too distracted to notice before.
“Hm…” she hummed again, this time a quick, short hum as she nodded and turned back to Descent and Starry. “You know what? I just realized something,” she began, everypony perking up and listening closely. “He never attacked preemptively.”
She paused to let that sink in, or better yet, to see if she wasn’t the only one who noticed. She received several confused looks.
“Pardon?” Fire Streak asked as he took a step up beside her. Spitfire quickly shook her head.
“He didn’t initiate any of it… Everypony he attacked… attacked him first. He only responded,” she explained.
“That’s awfully speculative,” Descent grunted.
“But that’s exactly what happened,” Spitfire shifted to him. “I’m not just trying to make excuses here because he’s using my friend’s body. He only fought back,” she laid out her thoughts as she pointed at Starry. “He attacked everypony that attacked him, but when Starry put herself in between the two of you defensively, he didn’t harm her.”
“He… actually smiled at me,” Starry explained while gritting her teeth, showing slight anger. “And laughed, or chuckled. It was as if he liked what I was doing.”
“See?” Spitfire lifted her brow at Descent. He still didn’t seem convinced, but before he could speak up again, Spitfire continued.
“That’s not all,” she pointed at Descent again, prompting him to close his mouth and scowl slightly. “Did anypony else notice? Once he knocked somepony down… he left them alone. He didn’t go for any kills. He left you,” she jabbed her hoof towards Descent again. “He left P.L. after he fell, and he didn’t go after any of us once we were out of his way.”
“He nearly killed Sin, Shadow would be dead if that attack hit her, and he brutally beat Nightshade to a pulp!” Descent snapped at her, but Spitfire didn’t flinch.
“Yeah, but one, she was attacking him, and two, she was refusing to go down. Once he smacked her to the ground, he didn’t continue. See what I mean? Don’t look at this with tunnel vision, Descent. He did not attempt to kill her. He didn’t peruse the Shadowbolt commanders either. And if I recall, he was responding to Shadow attacking him. Also… Sin’s crystals almost killed him from blocking the attack.” she detailed as Descent looked away and grumbled to himself. “In FACT…” Spitfire quickly continued. “I don’t know if anypony else noticed this, but he only seemed interested in one thing… Or more accurately… two.”
She paused as everypony stared at her in silence. At least, until Fire Streak perked up.
“The gods…” he said as Spitfire quickly pointed at him and nodded.
“Bingo! Discord and Luna,” she waited as the thought dawned on everypony else. As they took a step back and put it into perspective, they realized she was right, he did not make any advances towards anypony else on his own.
“They were the only two he seemed to care about,” Spitfire explained while looking around at them all. “And… from his words, it was clear he wanted to hurt them, or at least Discord. Which begs the question, why them and none of us?” she posed the question while her eyes darted about, to make sure she was engaging everypony’s thoughts. “Was it that we didn’t matter? Was it because we weren’t worth his time? Was it because we were simply in the way?” She paused. “Or could it be that he had no desire to harm us at all?”
“Now you’re just grasping at straws,” Descent growled as he returned his focus to her and snorted. “You can’t accuse me of tunnel vision and then put forth such ridiculous ideas. I was going for Nightshade when he attacked me, how does that line up with your argument?”
“Descent, you leapt right at him,” Spitfire said while flattening her brow.
“And?” Descent scrunched his face, scowling harder.
“If a scary looking, scarred up stallion leapt at me, I would’ve smacked the hell out of you too,” Spitfire put very bluntly. Descent blinked.
“Scary looking?! What’s that supposed to—”
“You LEAPT AT HIM… Descent. You decided to go through him to get to her, am I wrong?” she tipped her head and lifted an eyebrow. “I know exactly how you think, especially when it comes to Nightshade.”
“No you DON’T,” Descent hissed at her. Spitfire sighed and gave him a look.
“You were determined to save her, and Sombra was in your way. It probably didn’t help that you were also going towards Soarin’s body… old battles and pride get in the way a little bit there too, hmmmmm?” she hummed loudly, while slowly tilling her head to one side.
Everypony looked towards Descent as his lips curled down and quivered as if trying to scowl and pout at the same time. His left eye twitched and his nostrils flared in and out. But beyond that, he did not reply.
“I should get paid for being right,” Spitfire added with a slight grin. Descent instantly turned his back to her, sat down, and grumbled loudly to himself. “SO…” Spitfire turned back to everypony else. “Does anypony disagree with me?” she asked, looking between her Wonderbolts, Starry and Lightning Dust, and Blazetail and Flashwind. “Good!”
“So…” Blazetail stepped up to her. “Sombra has a vendetta with the gods, but not us,” he laid out his thoughts as he approached, standing beside her. “So what does this mean? This is the Mad King Sombra we’re talking about. Something doesn’t seem to add up here.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Spitfire agreed with him.
“Perhaps we should ask Luna about this?” he suggested.
Spitfire blinked, saying nothing for a moment as Blazetail nodded at her and turned to move towards the door.
But then Spitfire quickly reached out and grabbed his shoulder.
“WAIT! Wait…” she gripped his shoulder tightly as he looked over his shoulder at her. “Blazetail… hold on…” she shook her head. “Does something here seem off? Am I the only one thinking this? I hope I’m not.”
“What do you mean?” Blazetail asked as he blinked.
“You just said it yourself,” she let go of him. “Something doesn’t add up here.” She glanced around at everypony. “Let’s back all the way up for a moment. We all went to school, and I’m sure those of us who didn’t fall asleep in history class remember being taught about the Crystal Empire and how it was ruled by an evil tyrant who had gone mad with power and enslaved his ponies…” she rotated a hoof as she went through the general details. “And how he was sealed and banished by the crystal heart, etcetera, etcetera. Now…” she stood up and began pacing back and forth. “History is written by the victor. This is a basic fact of information. But there are a few things I’m questioning now based on what we’ve learned in the past few hours.” She stopped and sat down again. “For starters… if Sombra was banished and sealed away… he wouldn’t have been in Celestia’s body all this time. Secondly… and more importantly…” She turned and looked towards Rainbow Dash. "When the Crystal Empire reappeared after a thousand years… who did the Elements of Harmony battle and destroy? If Sombra was inside Celestia for so long, how could he also be out and trying to retake the empire at that time?”
“Sis… you’re making my fucking brain hurt,” Blaze suddenly complained.
“But you can’t deny there are contradictions here, right?” Spitfire asked Blaze.
“I don’t fucking know,” Blaze grumbled as she pulled her ears down with her hooves.
“Anyone?” Spitfire asked with a slight grunt. She received nods from several others. “Okay good, I know I’m not going crazy here.”
“What are you trying to imply here?” Descent asked, admittedly curious, but only turned halfway around.
“History is written by the victor,” Spitfire repeated. “All we were ever told, all we were ever taught, was that Sombra went mad and was destroyed, and the victors, in this case, were the gods. Celestia, Luna, and Discord have done nothing but lie to us over the past year about everything going on. Why does somepony lie?”
She paused, and waited for someone to answer. And Fire Streak did.
“To… cover up the truth,” he said quietly, but caused everypony’s ears to perk up.
“Exactly,” Spitfire pumped a hoof into the air briefly. “And history… fails to explain several things that have happened here and now.”
“I fail to see how this changes the situation at all,” Descent chimed in, now fully turned and ready to debate. “Soarin is still possessed, and you plan to go after him, no?”
“The situation doesn’t change… but the approach might,” she winked at him. “We don’t know anything about Sombra besides what we’ve been force fed… perhaps there’s more to this than we realize.”
Spitfire reclined as Descent suddenly burst out laughing, but only briefly as he clutched his stomach and grunted painfully.
“This is unbelievable… what are you going to do? Walk up to him and ask nicely if we can have Soarin back?”
Spitfire furrowed her brow and rolled her eyes.
“Sure Descent! That’s exactly what I want to do!” she said very sarcastically before shooting him a glare. “Will you cut it out already?!” she snapped as she hissed towards him. “I don’t see you analyzing the situation at all, Mr. Protect-My-Family!”
The two glared hard at each other, but Blazetail stepped right between them.
“Enough… enough…” he said with a frustrated nicker as he tried to keep Spitfire focused. “I’m intrigued by your viewpoint here, Spitfire… but does this lead to anything? Any plan or something we can do?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Spitfire quickly replied while keeping her eyes on Descent for a few more seconds. “As I said, this doesn’t change the situation, but it does change the approach. Obviously I’m not so naïve to think I can walk up to Sombra and ask for Soarin back… but maybe we can approach him passively, maybe he can tell us more. He clearly does not like the gods, perhaps he’s willing and eager to explain why,” Spitfire sharply turned to Descent as she heard him snort. “AND MAYBE…” she began loudly refusing to let him derail her thoughts. “Should we figure out a way to save Soarin, we can form a plan around that… maybe distract him. We still don’t even know if that’s possible, but if worst comes to worst… and saving Soarin is impossible, then we can at least learn more. And I’m sure everypony is sick and tired of having no clue what to think.”
“I sincerely doubt Luna will approve of such a plan,” Blazetail stated the obvious, but Spitfire chuckled… and smirked at him.
“Who said we’re going to tell her?”
Everypony perked up as Spitfire cleared her throat.
“Everypony listen to me closely… It’s time we turned the gods’ own game against them. I hereby order everypony in this room not to repeat a single word of this discussion to Discord or Luna. Understand?” she paused and looked at all of them strictly as they gave her looks of surprise. “They’ve been keeping detail after detail from us,” Spitfire continued. “I believe it’s time we give them a taste of their own medicine. I don’t want either of them catching wind of this discussion and then trying to force us or influence us in a different direction. It’s obvious, or at least very possible that Sombra has absolutely no intention of bringing anypony harm… or at least not yet. The target of his ire is clearly the gods themselves. I don’t want to declare war against him without knowing more, even if I have to hear it directly from him. So let’s use this to our advantage and keep them in the dark.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Descent spoke up again, Spitfire slammed her teeth shut and groaned loudly through them.
“MUST you go against everything I say?!” she yelled towards him.
“I’m just asking,” Descent stayed calm, perhaps trying to come back down to earth and be part of the discussion. Spitfire noticed and calmed down as well.
“Would you rather let the gods guide us after all this?” she asked. Descent stared for a moment and shook his head.
“No,” he answered with simply and honest.
“My point exactly,” Spitfire smiled with satisfaction at Descent’s quick agreement. She didn’t know if he really was seeing things her way, but she was glad he stopped fighting her.
As for the others, it looked like Spitfire had firmly planted her points into their heads. Everypony looked to be contemplating and wondering… just how much did they not know? Was Sombra truly what they had always known him to be? Were the gods trying to cover something up for all this time?
It seemed a bit crazy, but say they were able to find Sombra, and if he is actually willing to speak to them… what secrets would be revealed? Freeing Soarin from his grasp was the top priority by far, but there were so many new questions that were begging to be answered. Could they be given to them by… Sombra himself?
Everypony looked at her curiously, especially Blazetail. After the detailed analysis she put forward, he was admittedly curious as well.
“Alright everypony, here’s how we’re going to do this,” Spitfire quickly gathered their attention again. "First things first, spread the word that we had zero casualties. There’s nothing we can do about Soarin being on their minds, but nopony dying should lift their spirits a little. Second, spread the word about what we talked about here, but be quick and discreet. I’m going to mark this as highly classified, and for the ears of the Wonderbolts and Renegades ONLY. Do not, under any circumstances, allow Luna or the thestrals to catch wind of this, and when I say make it quick I mean it. We’re lucky that Discord decided to buzz off, but he’s never gone for long and is always listening in on things that are none of his business. Once everypony has been informed, report back to me. We’re going to take off as soon as we’re ready…”
She paused and looked around the room, her eyes scanned all the Shadowbolts, but stopped when her eyes landed on Wave. He was smiling at her. She smiled right back.
“We need to get these ponies and Silver the help that they’ve been waiting for,” she nodded, receiving nods of approval right back. “Assuming this all goes well and the Crystal Empire is not under attack right now… We’ll meet with Princess Cadence and begin plans and discussions on how to go after and whether or not we can save Soarin, but do not let her in on this either. We’re going to lead them all on for a bit, I want to be able to draw up our own plan for approaching Sombra without any other authority trying to butt in. Play along with what they say, but only follow MY orders, none from Luna, Discord, or Cadence. We’ll do this our own way if we have to. And lastly…” She paused and looked towards Dash. “Stay positive on Soarin. We don’t know if we can do anything right now, but I’m not about to let some long lost king get away with my best friend’s body without a fight. As long as we have Dash… I’m confident there’s a chance we can save Soarin and make all this right again.”
She looked around. Nopony was protesting. Nothing from Blazetail or Flashwind. Nothing from Descent. And her Wonderbolts all looked eager to get going.
It was one big longshot into a great, big unknown… but it wouldn’t be the first time they had taken a long leap of faith.
Spitfire rapped a hoof against the floor.
“Let’s get moving, our next mission starts right now!”
It was as if lightning had struck in the middle of the somber mood. While the start was rocky and filled with speed bumps, after bringing them all together and putting things into a new perspective, Spitfire’s hopes of lighting a fire inside them all seemed to work. They didn’t have an answer, they didn’t know how things would go, but they wanted to move forward. They wanted to push on and see it through.
There were a lot of unknowns staring them all right in the face, but at the same time, there was a possibility of answers they all wanted. The thought of speaking to Sombra seemed crazy, but based on everything Spitfire put forward, it wasn’t entirely a hopeless scenario. They had no idea if they could save Soarin, but should they be able to, they’d do anything to achieve it, even if it meant something crazy like passively approaching the power that was just unleashed.
But maybe it was simpler than that, perhaps the idea of going behind the backs of the gods and poking them in the eye was giving them some drive as well. After all, the gods seemed to put them through lie after lie, ordeal after ordeal, and act like there was little consequence. Frankly… they deserved some retribution.
The concept of who to trust and who to fight for had become a muddled mess, but there was still an end goal in sight. And it started with them reaching the safety of the Crystal Empire.
Slowly but surely, the Wonderbolts and others present picked themselves up and helped each other on the way out. Honestly, most of them wanted to stay and spend some more time with Wave Chill, but they had their orders, and were eager to discreetly spread the word of their plan.
Spitfire was in the same boat, but she knew they had to get moving. Duty called and she needed to get everypony moving. But…
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Spitfire froze and blinked as Flashwind’s voice met her ears from behind. She turned to see her former superior walk up beside her and place a hoof on her shoulder.
“I know what you want to do,” she winked at Spitfire. “Let us handle spreading the word.”
“But, I…” Spitfire tried to protest as she glanced back at Wave, but found herself unable to go any further.
“No buts,” Flashwind went on while shaking her head. “We’ll report to you once everypony is informed. Stay here and spend some time with your commander. It will help you relax for what’s still to come.”
Spitfire took a deep breath and exhaled.
“O…okay,” she agreed hesitantly. “You sure you can handle it?” she asked, her eyes widening right after as Flashwind lifted her brow and smirked. “Right, right, I forgot who I was talking to.”
“Go, talk to him. He looks eager to see you,” Flashwind finished with a smile before moving on and following the others out.
Spitfire watched everypony exit the room, leaving her alone with the bedridden and Bliss’ staff.
“Heh…” Spitfire smiled. Flashwind knew her too well. The ‘loss’ of Soarin was weighing heavy on her and it would throughout their entire plan going forward. She needed to loosen up and relax and there was only one stallion who could do that right now. She turned and faced Wave, who was still smiling at her. He looked relieved, free from a lot of the pain he had been experiencing, not to mention with roughly half the crystals spread on his body.
Spitfire smiled warmly back at him as she slowly made her way over.
“Hey… Captain…” Wave spoke as she closed in. Spitfire’s ears perked up, surprised that he spoke. He had been unable to for such a long time, it was so nice to hear his voice again. With her smile growing wider by the step, she nearly released a squeal of delight that she barely held back as Wave slowly moved his arm up and gave her a weak salute. She chuckled and shook her head as she reached the bed.
“At ease… Commander.”
The Wonderbolts made their way through the barracks hallway and back towards the lobby, their misgivings and worries being held at bay by new orders and new goals…
But one pony was still struggling to remain on the same page as the rest of them, the one pony who was connected to whom they were all worried about.
Rainbow Dash was moving on her own now, but still not without assistance as Matteo kept his talons gently on her back to guide her. She was aware of everything she just saw and everything that just happened. She had heard every word that Spitfire had said, but she could not focus enough on it to feel the drive that was flowing through the rest. Her body still felt weak and her brain felt scrambled, but between her headaches she began to put together exactly what she was feeling in her head. Among the shocking replays of the horrific transformation, she swore she could hear Soarin’s voice. He wasn’t speaking, there were no words… it sounded like painful grunts and groans. She could not feel any pressure on her own body, but her brain was registering pain anyway.
Was she feeling Soarin’s pain?
That had to be it, they were connected through their souls after all.
They paused at the end of the hall, waiting as the group in front of them filed out of the doors into the lobby. With a moment to spare, Dash weakly reached a hoof up to her chest and placed it over her heart.
She felt her heartbeat, it didn’t feel any different than it usually did from without as it gently thumped against her hoof, but each thump felt harder within her, fuller, and slightly painful as if she could feel the beating of two hearts within her own… and one was struggling.
“Soarin…”
---To Be Continued---
(Art at the end of the chapter by: Scootafail/Chiwee 
)
Don't worry... *Pulls CowgirlVK off my back* You are all going to get some Spitfire/Wavechill fluff in chapter 150. Chapter 149 is going to be the next scene that i wanted to be detached from all of this info and then we're going to circle right back to literally the moment after chapter 148 ends. So chapter 149 is going to be short, expect it quickly.
But looking at what we have here...
Moon seems to be fighting a few battles of his own within. What got him to turn around and do something that wasn't part of his own agenda? Or has his 'agenda' evolved over time? 
And Spitfire with the analytics. Sombra, in fact, did not attack any of them unless he was attacked first. Sure, he wailed on them after being attacked, but he never initiated it, and did not go for any kills (At least intentionally.)
Several pieces of what they've always known about Sombra are not adding up, particularly when Discords explanation is involved. The most baffling of which is easily the case of the Crystal re-emerging and coming under attack. If Sombra was in Celestia all this time, who attacked the Crystal Empire at the beginning of Season 3?
History is written by the victors... and more often than not, the victors tend to sweep a few things under the rug. Based on how 'trustworthy' the gods have been up to this point... who knows what's hiding behind the curtain?
Perhaps there's only one stallion they can ask
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!
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Ahhhhhhhahahahahaha MOOOOOOOOOOON YAAASSSSSSSSS
The Starry Descent shipping is strong with this one
Yes. Reasons. Mmmmhmmm.
Chapter chapter.
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I KNOW RIGHT??!?!???
...he's messing up the ship.
Damnit Calm.
That was a good chapter. It's nice knowing that Wave Chill is a little bit better now. I can't wait to see what happens next chapter!
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I would like to remind you that said "bitch" is dead...
I will debate one single point: History isn't necessarily written by the victors, but by the voices that are loudest at the end of it. Usually, losing is enough to silence one side enough for another to rise, but if the loser can outlive the victor and shout their side loud enough, theirs will be the only narrative that remains after enough time has passed. So, it is possible that there were no clear victors, but simply those that survived,
But otherwise, great chapter, man.
8409667
Well supposedly but knowing Calm, he will screw with us in every way possible.
But yes,
THERE IS HOPE!!!! FORWARD SHIP!!!!!!
Sssssiiiiiiigggggghhhhhh, it's nice to finally, FINALLY get some form of relief after the shit storm they've been through. (And i've been through with Harvey) Looks like you're putting us on a bit of a pedestal once more
...but knowing you, Calm Wind, you're just gonna knock it down in some chapter ahead like the sick son of a bitch you are
And I look forward to it.
Keep up the good work you sly bastard
We want moooooore
Wouldn't the "nobody died" not quite fit since Twister is missing? They don't know whether he's dead or alive or where he is in the first place, even though us readers know he didn't spontaneously keel over. So I guess nobody died and an AWOL.
And if the mirrorverse exists, then maybe that Sombra crossed over here and turned dark side whilst this Sombra was obliterated?
Based on the show, I'd guess that there is more than one piece of Sombra floating around.
Also, maybe Soarin was able to influence Sombra's actions
Well since spitfire is playing the gods game lets hope it also doesn't backfire like it did on them
Great chapter as always Calm see you in the next one
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Down girls down
No! I don't want down! The floor is cold, and I'm enjoying the FLUFFFF!!
heh heh more mortal/divine conflicts, so juiciy, so meaty. i'm curious as to why there was a lack of mention of catheters with the afflicted shadowbolts, not because a character i made for one of them has one, but the use of such would potentially be necessary given the affliction
8409686
agreed, but in the end it's more nuanced then that jim
Noooooooo soarin or sombra I don't know any more
Amazing Chapter ^^ #Loveit
Yeah WaveFire!!!! ^^
I wonder ,if King Sombra can cure Wave and The shadow bolt's captives ??? :3
MY. BRAIN. JUST. EXPLODED.
It was like 'Pufff!'.
I thought Spitfire would say something like: "Dash, something you recall from the whole Crystal Empire thing when you were there?" And everypony else would be like: "What the fuck?" And Spitfire would say something like: "By the way, Dash here is the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty".
This pony-history mess here is just... Just...
I have no words.
Oh, and congrats Calm. With the last part, you broke my heart... Again.
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That's a good theory... It makes sense...
Is it me, or was this last picture a lot more anime-pone than usual?
Anyways, great chapter!
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I refuuuuseeeee
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SQUEEEEEEEEEE.
yes spitfire has flipped the table on the gods! Also, Moon had someone important in his life, I wounder what happened... I bet Angel was involved somehow.
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Tiny me was hiding in your mane all the time and quite agrees with you.
cold floor no good, much fluff required
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As hilarious as that would be, she knows that dash isn't capable of speaking really atm. And even if she was, it would be way to much to ask for her to try and remember that event
Welp. Foxtrot is tired of Twister's shit. I think it might be safer for him not to appear honestly.
The history that everyone knows was probably altered, eh? Why am I not surprised.
I'm wondering where Moon would get another crystal from. Another secret stash?
Wave and Spits are adorableee <33
Missing Twister + Stressed out Foxtrot=foxtrot pissed at twister XD Poor Soarin Poor Dash YEY FLUFF!!
I think Spitfire's suggestion is quite reasonable since Sombra is technically the only other person alive from that time other than Discord, Celestia, and Luna and as they've made it quite clear that they would rather play mind games with mortals, or try to avoid speaking of it like its an embarrassment. Plus I have no doubt Sombra would be more than eager to share his side of the events that led up to his inprisonment if asked and might even drop a clue or two as to the identity of his doppelgänger/imposter.
8410345
Yeah, true, but it would have been hilarious anyway.
Spitfire is planning something reeeeeaaaaly good.She had enough from the gods and their powerstuggle mind games.Who knows maybe she strikes a deal with Sobra and turn him to a powerfull ally since there is no battle blood between them like Celestia or Discord.
Omg! Wait. What if soarin and rainbow dash's bodies combied! Like rainbow would get one green eye and one magenta eye! And have soarin take on dashie's cyan blue color! Can't wait to see what happens next!
Great chapter!
And that pic at the end... Yeesh, that's some heavy damage.
Omg! Wait. What if soarin and rainbow dash's bodies combied! Like rainbow would get one green eye and one magenta eye! And have soarin take on dashie's cyan blue color! Can't wait to see what happens next!
Oh right, Wave and Spitfire are a thing. it's been so long that i keep forgetting that.
Oh
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Hold thy gay horses there...
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"reasons" Hmyesss
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thanks!
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It's a commonly used expression, no need to look to deep into it
8409727
ya never know with me
But yeah, it has been quite a while since they've had something positive happen, huh?
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MOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!
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Twister is Twister. He's gone right now, but they never give him the designation 'missing' because he always shows up randomly. He's probably the one pony they dont have to worry about because he doesn't follow the rules of reality in any way
And note: anything regarding sombra's canon storyline set forth by the comics does not apply in my story. I planned this all out long before the mirror verse comic or the comic about sombra's origin came out, so absolutely nothing you know about him in canon is going to be in this story. Might be a bit weird, but he didnt have a backstory when i was writing my outline, so it's completely different
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It will be an interesting scenario for sure
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Lets hope it doesn't spitfire either...
*takes the stairs to hell*
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All the fluff atop the buff
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in a case like that i'd rather not go into full realistic details because
8409857
Oh just wait until the next chapter
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You never know with all the wild twists and turns going on here!
And yes, more wavefire goodness