Piercing the Heavens

by Calm Wind

Chapter 151: Unexpected Reunion

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 151: Unexpected Reunion

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The flow of time in Dash’s head seemed to stop completely as her thought process crashed and tried to restart. She just had to think it, didn’t she. She just had to consider how much worse it could be compared to just dealing with Shining Armor and Cadence. Because the exact moment the thought crossed her mind… there were her friends from Ponyville walking down the steps and standing before all of them.

Dash’s eyes were frozen in place, staring straight ahead at no pony in particular as if the stairs behind and between Applejack and Twilight were the most interesting set of stairs she had ever laid eyes on. Her fellow squadmates were all glancing between Dash and the new arrivals as if expecting her to say something, but no words came, nor did they even form in her head. Dash was too shocked and quickly filling with dread. The look on her face and way she was feeling would make one think she was staring at her incoming, impending doom. Which was kind of funny, considering that the only thing flinging towards her at the moment was a small, adorable yellow Pegasus who was wailing like a baby as she flew by all the other Wonderbolts.

“RAINBOW DAAAAAAAASH!” Fluttershy cried out as she flung towards her. She had somehow gone from a dead stop beneath Applejack to full speed towards Dash in an instant, nearly tripping up Applejack as she shot by everypony.

Despite Fluttershy’s small size, relative delicateness, and thin overall stature, Dash was not ready for it, nor was she thinking about bracing herself.

“OOF!” Dash grunted loudly and painfully as Fluttershy slammed into her chest, clamping her arms around Dash’s neck and latching her back legs to her as well. Dash coughed and stumbled backwards as the sudden jolt surged through her. If not for Matteo quickly reaching out and bracing her, she would have fallen right over.

“YOU’RE OKAY!” Fluttershy yelled. It wasn’t often she raised her voice, but it seemed to only occur when she was incredibly angry or incredibly worried. “I WAS SO WORRIED!” she immediately confirmed as her tiny voice projected. It sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

“Rgh… grh… hnnnggg…” Dash twitched and winced as Fluttershy’s little yet strong squeeze sent already raw nerves into a frenzy. She was trying her best not to show pain, but at this point everything hurt.

"WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS TO ME?!" Fluttershy's voice suddenly grew angered as she pulled her face away and glared at Dash. Storm, Squall, and Star all inched away with their eyes wide as the tiny pegasus suddenly looked like she would explode with hidden rage. "STOP IT!" she yelled while shaking Dash by the neck.

“Fluttershy, darling!” Rarity was the first to react to Fluttershy’s sudden move, elegantly weaving her way through the Wonderbolts with her magic lighting up her horn. “Be careful! Rainbow Dash doesn’t look well!” her magic surrounded Fluttershy and tried to pull her free, but the moment it tugged on her, Fluttershy squeaked and clamped down harder, refusing to let go.

“C’mon now, Sugarcube…” Applejack chimed in as she advanced towards them, taking the exact opposite approach of Rarity and walking in a straight line. She seemed to completely ignore the Wonderbolts, her shoulder glancing Spitfire’s and nearly knocking her over as she passed. Spitfire furrowed her brow and glared at Applejack as the rest of the Wonderbolts in her way quickly moved aside to let her through. “Let the poor gal breathe…” Applejack suggested while grabbing Fluttershy by the scruff of her neck and pulling her off with the extra leverage from Rarity's magic.

“EEP!” Fluttershy squeaked as she dangled in the air in front of Applejack like a kitten, her innocent demeanor suddenly returning as she curled her arms and legs in.

Dash grunted and exhaled the moment she was relieved from Fluttershy’s tight grip, but was still completely at a loss for what to say or do in this situation. Her eyes were wide and her pupils were small, she had a secret to keep for the sake of Soarin, the Wonderbolts, and their mission to upend the narrative set forth by the gods. Now she was staring directly at a group of ponies that she physically could not bring herself to lie to.

Okay fine, maybe she had told a lie or two in the past, but it was to cover up an embarrassing mistake or an instance where she somehow failed to be awesome, but this wasn’t the same. They were in a crisis situation… how could she leave her friends in the dark with something so drastic on the line?

“HEY!” Pinkie Pie suddenly popped right up in front of her, Dash nearly yelped, her voice cracking to the point where it resembled a creaking wheel falling off of a cart. “YOU AREN’T DEAD!” she yelled right into Dash’s face while pressing her nose to hers, a loud HEEEEEE sounding from Pinkie as she smiled wider.

This was the one time… the ONE TIME… that Dash wished the crazy pony that popped up in front of her was Twister and not Pinkie.

“YOU LOOK TIRED, BUT YOU SHOULD TELL US ALL ABOUT HOW YOU DIDN’T DIE!” Pinkie went on, basically yelling as she pushed her nose harder against Dash’s. Before Dash could even attempt to form a reply, Twilight’s magic surrounded Pinkie and pushed her flat to the floor, a party horn sounding out and confetti blasting upwards as she hit the floor.

“Rainbow Dash, I’m so happy to see you alright!” Twilight began, not even addressing Pinkie giggling on the floor as she stepped over her and gave Dash a very gentle hug, a nice soft approach compared to the others. Dash was still locked in her own silence, her mouth hanging slightly agape and her eyes frozen wide as Twilight pulled back from the hug and quickly looked her over. She took in everything, the state of Dash’s body, how tired, she looked, analyzing every little detail like she always did. “Is everything alright?” she asked, prompted by Dash’s lack of response, probably the lack of response throughout the whole reunion. “You look so… drained…” she asked with a very worried tone as she glanced at all the others, clearly noticing Dash looked a bit different in terms of exhaustion level. “Are you hurt?” The gentle approach vanished as she stepped forward. “What happened to you?” she pressed as Dash began to quiver. “Where is Soarin?” she rapid-fired questions at her, stopping just short of touching her as she drew closer and closer.

Dash felt like she was going to burst.

“OKAY! OKAY!” Spitfire suddenly cut in breaking into stride and stepping up to Dash and Twilight. She grabbed Twilight by the shoulder and forced her away from Dash before placing herself in between them. “That’s enough! Give her some space please!”

Twilight gasped as she was pushed back, her eyes going wide with shock as the forceful maneuver.

“HEY!" Applejack barked, dropping Fluttershy from her mouth and stomping forward until she was between Twilight and Spitfire. Snorting as she bent her neck down slightly, using her slight size advantage over Spitfire to assert herself, but Spitfire had faced down much larger ponies, Applejack didn’t stand a chance.

“Stop crowding her,” Spitfire explained firmly, not wavering or flinching one fiber of her being under the glare of Applejack. “She is under a unique situation of physical and mental stress.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes further before lifting an eyebrow.

“Think ya coulda said that without shovin’ Twilight?” she asked with a grunt.

“Just like how nicely you said ‘excuse me’ before passing by me a moment ago?” Spitfire shot right back in a calm, smooth tone that immediately irritated Applejack.

“Now listen here you—”

Applejack was about to bite back, but a bright light flashed behind her and she was surrounded by Twilight’s magic. The magic forced Applejack aside as if she were as light as a feather, clearing the way for a substantially MORE worried looking Twilight to rush forward.

“Wait… Physical and mental stress?!” Twilight exclaimed, a clear amount of panic in her voice as she got right into Spitfire’s face. “What do you mean? What’s wrong with her?!” Twilight demanded desperately. Spitfire continued to remain firm, determined to take control of the situation.

“Princess,” Spitfire spoke, causing Twilight to freeze in anticipation. “I’m going to have to ask you to calm down and back off so I can explain.”

That was clearly not the answer Twilight wanted to hear. She stood on the tips of her hooves and leaned in, almost knocking her head against Spitfire’s as her eyes turned into a glare.

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH HER?!” she repeated, this time in a demanding tone as opposed to a desperate one. Without a moment of hesitation, Spitfire leaned back slightly to avoid clashing faces and grabbed Twilight’s shoulder tightly.

“CALM. DOWN!” she growled while leaning forward and looming over Twilight.

Dash was on the verge of hyperventilating as the scene unfolded right in front of her. Her eyes were shaking as they mostly remained on Spitfire and Twilight, darting about at the rest of her old friends every few seconds as well. Applejack looked like she was ready to punch Spitfire in the face. Rarity and Fluttershy had both backed away, eyes wide in fear of conflict. Pinkie Pie was sitting nearby with a large tub of popcorn, shoveling large hooffulls into her mouth while wearing a pair of 3D glasses.

“Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight and the rest of Dash’s friends perked up and froze as Luna’s voice met their ears. Everypony turned and looked towards Luna as she sat nearby with P.L. sitting right behind her. She had remained quiet in the back the whole time, but felt the need to speak up before the situation got too out of hoof. Though Twilight’s sudden reaction and shift in expression caught Dash’s attention more than anything. Knowing Twilight, she probably couldn’t believe that she had completely overlooked one of the Divine Sisters sitting right there in the room.

“Do as Captain Spitfire says,” Luna calmly asked. “Rainbow Dash is in a very frail state. Please do not pressure her.”

They all complied instantly. Twilight backed off, Applejack forced herself to calm down, Pinkie Pie even scooted back, all of them giving some distance as they moved back to stand with Fluttershy and Rarity.

Dash and Spitfire noticed their move, as they were sure the rest had seen as well. It confirmed what Spitfire had speculated and what Dash had feared. Unwavering loyalty to Luna and her word as a goddess. There was no way around it. The Elements of Harmony were fiercely loyal to Celestia and Luna. Spitfire was simply assuming, but Dash understood what she was seeing all too well.

Everything, absolutely everything that she and her ponyville friends had been through in their lives up to this point had happened because of how they came together under the guidance of Celestia to become the Elements of Harmony, the mystical guardians of Equestria whose combined efforts gave them control over a powerful magic likely more powerful than Celestia herself. It was their first adventure to become the Elements that defined everything about them. The chances of any of them suddenly believing that Celestia and Luna could not be trusted… was dead zero.

Twilight had done as she was told, but she was clearly still worried about Dash, she could not hide it even if she tried.

“We’ll explain everything,” Spitfire spoke up to make use of the opening Luna provided. “Just please give Dash some room to breathe.”

Twilight swallowed and nodded, almost looking a little… ashamed? It wasn’t directed at Dash. Instead, she kept her head tilted down slightly as she turned to Luna.

“I…I’m sorry Princess Luna… I…” Twilight glanced briefly at Dash. “We really only had one thing on our mind coming in here. I should have addressed you first.” She spoke shamefully… it was borderline depressing how she sounded. It was as if she committed a highly dishonorable act by not acknowledging Luna. It only further confirmed their loyalty.

“Fear not, Princess Twilight,” Luna spoke in a comforting tone. “We understand your great concern for a close friend.”

Twilight remained still for a moment, shaking slightly before her head snapped up, revealing very concerned eyes once more, only this time focused on Luna.

“But…” Twilight rushed towards Luna, skidding to a halt in front of her and staring up with desperate pleading eyes. It was as if Luna’s request to calm down had already run its course through her mind before it all tumbled back down to what was worrying her. “I have so much to ask you too! I’m so relieved to see you safe and sound, but… Where in Equestria is Princess Celestia?!”

The rest of Dash’s friends perked up and listened intently for Luna’s response as Luna blinked and leaned back slightly in surprise. Spitfire exhaled through her nose and flattened her brow, wishing Twilight would shut up so she could actually bring them all up to speed already. The longer she was delayed the longer she had to keep her Wonderbolts and the Renegades here instead of in their hotels and resting.

“I thought she might be with you too! I haven’t heard from her at all and all of the messages I’ve tried to send her have been turned back around to me!” She paused briefly, but before Luna could muster an answer, Twilight gasped. “Wait, she’s not STILL out of commission is she?! I thought that was only temporary! And if she is, where is she?!”

“We…” Luna tried to speak, but winced and leaned back further as Twilight suddenly spread her wings and hovered up into the air.

“Or is that not the case?! Did something else happen to her?! Is she alright?!” she was talking faster and faster in an extreme panic, pressing her hooves to the sides of her head. “Is she hurt?! Is she missing?! Is she… Is she…” she grabbed Luna’s face, breathing hard. “WHERE IS SHE?! WHAT’S GOING ON?!”

As Twilight was nearly shaking Princess Luna, all of her friends had turned and were inching closer to Luna as well, all hoping to hear something about Princess Celestia.

Dash blinked as Spitfire suddenly glanced over her shoulder and lifted an eyebrow at her. Dash groaned quietly and pressed her mane over her eyes, slight embarrassment adding itself on top of the already heavy situation. She peeked through her mane towards Luna to see the shocked look on her face as Twilight began pressing her hooves into Luna’s cheeks. P.L. was surprisingly not moving a muscle, perhaps because Twilight was also a princess.

But WHY Luna was silent was no mystery to Dash or any of those who had been traveling with her. Luna obviously had no problem speaking up when she had answers, but she knew nothing about Celestias whereabouts. Was she staying quiet because of Twilight’s crazy advance, or because she was too embarrassed to admit to her sister’s special student that she had no answer?

Twilight yelped as two magical auras suddenly surrounded her and pulled her away from Luna. Both Cadence and Shining Armor stepped towards her with their horns alight and working together to hold her back.

“Twily… enough already,” Shining Armor said sternly as the two lowered her to the ground before them. Before Twilight could say or do anything, Shining placed a hoof on her head and pressed down. “Yelling in Luna’s face isn’t gonna get you answers.”

“Hrmmmm…” Twilight’s ears drooped down and she pouted at Shining. He shook his head.

“Oh no you don’t, those eyes aren’t gonna work on me here,” he said as he tipped his head and lifted his brow.

“Auntie Luna…” Cadence spoke up as she let her husband handle her sister-in-law. She stepped up to Luna and looked towards the Wonderbolts and Renegades. “Wonderbolts… Everypony… please,” she tipped her head and sighed. “I think Twilight speaks for all of us. We know so little about what’s going on beyond the small details included in your letters… And we have no word or guidance from Princess Celestia to show us the way. Please, tell us everything. How did it begin? Who are you fighting? What has happened from the time you escaped Canterlot until now?”

There was a brief silence that spread to every corner of the room. The focus was on Luna first, but she hesitated again, giving Spitfire the window she was looking for. She didn’t want Luna explaining things anyway.

“Well…” Spitfire spoke up, clearing her throat to draw everypony’s attention to her. She stole a brief glance at Dash as she collected her thoughts. Dash perked up when she saw Spitfire looking at her, but it was strange, there was little she could read from it. Spitfire stared at her for another moment or two before looking back at everypony else. “It’s a long story…”

And so Spitfire began from the beginning.

They were going to be there for a while, and frankly, Dash didn’t pay attention to a word that Spitfire was saying. Shining Armor, Cadence, and her ponyville friends were all listening closely, but she didn’t have to. None of the Wonderbolts or Renegades did. They lived through the whole thing and were tired as hell. They knew they were there to be a part of Spitfire’s explanation and were getting a little miffed that it was taking so long for them to let her speak.

But Dash couldn’t even find time to feel miffed. She was still struggling to come up with some idea of how to handle the situation she was suddenly thrust into. She was caught completely off guard by her Ponyville friends and had absolutely no idea what to say or do. And the fact that she had given them no response at all likely had them even more worried and curious.

She knew that the moment they broke this meeting, they would come after her. They would demand to know what’s wrong even though they were asked to give her space. They were stubborn like that… Dash would do the same thing for any of them. And the more they pried from her, the closer they’d get to digging EVERYTHING out of her. They’d want to know everything going on and it would be hard to look them all in the eye and mislead them. How was she going to do it? How was she going to get out of it?

As Dash focused heavily on her impending ‘doom’, she failed to notice something. As Spitfire was telling their story to the rest, the tips of her wings began to move subtly. She kept moving them in a repetitive manner, and after a moment… Misty Fly suddenly perked up and glanced at Spitfire’s wings.

She watched for three or four repetitions of the motion patterns before nudging Fire Streak. Fire blinked and looked towards her as she inconspicuously tipped her head towards Spitfire. Fire noticed the secrecy of Misty’s movements and quickly played along, looking straight ahead at the others before shifting his eyes just enough to see what Spitfire was doing.

She was making half sign language signals. Fire watched carefully in his peripheral vision, eventually deducing exactly which symbols Spitfire was trying to send to them. Not to mention he was impressed that she managed to multitask the signs while giving the full and thorough explanation of their exploits.

After watching Spitfire’s signals for several seconds, Fire glanced at Misty Fly at nearly the exact moment she glanced at him. Without a word exchanged between them, they nodded, signaling that they both got the message. Fire worked his own wingtips, on his wing facing Misty, folding them all down except for five. She gave him another faint nod before they both looked forward.

Exactly five seconds passed…

Misty suddenly wobbled, she looked down and her eyes narrowed as she bumped against Fire. Fire looked at her as she bounced off of him and turned, her hooves shuffling until she was facing Dash and her squad. Fire Streak quickly reached out and grabbed her over the shoulder, slamming his hooves to the floor as he stopped her from falling right into Rainbow Dash.

Spitfire instantly stopped talking and everypony quickly looked towards the commotion. Fire had just barely stopped her from falling face first on the floor. Storm, Squall, Star, and Matteo all looked right down at Misty in front of them, but Dash was so distracted that her reaction was painfully late. Her ears twitched and she looked down a full two seconds after everyone else.

Fire helped stabilize her before lifting a hoof into the air and waving it at all of them.

“She’s alright,” he said as he let his hoof down and gently rubbed it on Misty’s shoulder as she leaned into his chest. “She’s been a bit woozy since we’ve landed,” he explained.

“Does she need to go lay down?” Spitfire asked with concern.

Fire quickly bent down and made a few signs to Misty with one hoof and wing. She blinked and watched, quickly shaking her head.

“She’s fine, sorry to interrupt,” Fire answered for her with a nod.

“Alright, so as I was saying…” Spitfire turned back to the rest as Fire and Misty remained facing Dash and her squad. Dash was about to turn her attention back to Spitfire and the rest, but her ears twitched as she heard something.

“Psst… Rainbow Dash,” she blinked and followed her ears, looking directly at Fire Streak to find both he and Misty Fly were looking directly at her… and Misty Fly didn’t look one bit tired or ‘woozy’ as Fire claimed. The rest of Dash’s squad looked but Fire quickly and subtly shook his head. “The rest of you keep looking at Spitfire!” he ordered in a sharp tone that somehow remained incredibly quiet. Dash stared with wide eyes, wondering what was going on. What just happened? Was it just an act?

“Listen carefully,” Fire continued to whisper as he and Misty remained focused on Dash. She could just barely hear him, there was no way anypony behind them or up around Spitfire could hear it. “Recall the state you were in a few hours ago, not too long after Soarin was taken,” he began. Dash just kept staring. “Spitfire wants you to feign that condition. The fatigue and the lack of ability to speak clearly.”

“Uh…” Dash quietly replied, if it could be called a reply. She was so confused.

“Those are the captains orders,” Fire gave a small shrug. “My guess is it has to do with the unexpected arrival of your friends. And if it is, I agree,” Fire nodded, showing just how much of a wavelength he was on with Spitfire’s thinking. “You have to convince them to let you go for now. Don’t come face to face with them until you’re prepared to.”

Dash absorbed everything she was told and glanced at Misty, who was looking at her with an expression just as serious as Fire’s. She swallowed and nodded, receiving a nod from both of them in return before they started turning around and instantly going back into character, Fire acting like he was helping Misty get back on her hooves.

What a fiasco this had become. She was hoping the stress would be over for now, only to be thrown right into more stress. Though it was quite clever of Spitfire to suggest it. For a moment Dash was wondering how it would work, but then she remembered that she had yet to say a single word out of shock. She just had to keep acting like she had trouble speaking… and then maybe lean back into Matteo to look more mentally taxed and broken.

For the first time in her life, Dash found herself purposely acting WEAK in front of her friends. She’d have to add that to the ever growing list of ways the world had turned upside down.

With Spitfire’s indirect order in mind, Dash kept up the act, eventually leaning into Matteo for ‘support’ and he played along with her. And while she sat there, purposely looking weak, it gave her a chance to examine each of her friends as they listened and took in Spitfire’s recount of their endeavors.

Shining and Cadence both sat stoically, absorbing everything the best they could. Twilight was tipping forward, her eyes wide and her wings twitching, clearly listening for anything related to Celestia. Applejack was showing little emotion. Her ears were turned, but her expression was hard and slightly frustrated, perhaps still not happy about how Spitfire muscled her way in between Twilight and Dash. Rarity was listening intently, a hoof lightly touched to her mouth as certain details drew quiet gasps from her. Fluttershy was leaning up against Rarity, her eyes wide and shivering slightly as certain frightful and scary details emerged. Pinkie Pie was sitting on a beanbag chair, that she got from who knows where, she wore an excited, suspenseful look on her face as she wore a foam hoof that had the Wonderbolt symbol and a ‘#1’ on it.

Spitfire’s words were reaching Dash too, but again, she had lived it. Hearing about it all over again was nothing compared to living through it, though it did well to remind her of a few life changing and terrifying moments she’d never forget. Hearing about Silver again was especially difficult, not that it was a surprise, but it reinforced how worried she was about him. They had just taken him to the hospital. and she was desperate to know what his status was.

Dash perked up as her Ponyville friends and the royal family suddenly gasped and reacted quite loudly. Of course… Spitfire had just brought up King Sombra. And a second reaction came soon after, when they mentioned that Soarin’s absence was due to Sombra possessing and taking full control of Soarin’s body.

Their reaction was expected, again reinforcing the need to keep their plans quiet. To them, Sombra was simply a villain, and any attempt to convince them of their revelations would likely be scorned as foolish.

Dash felt like she was being stabbed through the heart every time she looked at one of her friends. She had to lie to them, it hurt to just think about and would hurt even more to do. It didn’t matter how many times the thought crossed her mind, it hurt just as much every time.

Twilight was immediately shaking her head as Spitfire finally finished.

“H-how…?” she asked. “How did all of this happen without me knowing? Why didn’t Celestia send me a…” she trailed off, her eyes widening as she remember Celestia’s absence. It was a telling statement, Dash, Spitfire, and the Wonderbolts all seeing just how reliant Twilight was on the word of Celestia. The more loyalty to the gods was showcased, the more they realized just how isolated they were in their thinking. “You have no idea where she is?” she asked desperately even though it was brought up more than once in Spitfire’s speech. Spitfire shook her head.

“The only one who seems to know anything about Celestia is Discord… and he has been frustratingly tight lipped about it, constantly citing that he is only doing as Celestia asked.” Spitfire’s eyes were drawn to Luna as she visibly twitched and looked away, avoiding eye contact as Twilight immediately looked to her in hopes of getting some answers.

Twilight didn’t seem to register much of what Spitfire said, she was staring forward with her eyes wide and her jaw hanging open, none of Dash’s friends behind her seemed to find any words either. Cadence looked down and shook her head.

“This is… much worse than we could’ve imagined,” she began as she looked to Shining. “Sombra is still alive? And he has control of Soarin’s body?” she tipped her head and narrowed her eyes, deep in thought. “And Auntie Celestia was storing his soul in her body? Why in Equestria would she do that?”

Spitfire glanced at Luna again. Luna was gritting her teeth and shut her eyes tight. Spitfire huffed, knowing that Luna purposely avoided the topic earlier and looked determined to do so again now.

“And we’ve never seen the one in control of the Shadowbolts?” Shining Armor chimed in. “That’s beyond troubling too… We have the Mad King on the loose and an entity the gods fear lurking in the shadows?”

Spitfire nodded, acknowledging Shining as she sought to move on.

“That is currently how the situation stands,” she confirmed. “Believe me, it has been a few steps deeper than hell for us. We can see who we’re fighting, but we can’t see the one pulling the string behind them. Our singular goal has been survival with no actual way to overcome or defeat our enemy. And… right before we achieved our goal, a problem that had been quietly resting in the back of our minds for the whole journey suddenly sprang up and took over Soarin, effectively making our problems twice as complicated.”

“BUT WHERE IS CELESTIA?!” Twilight suddenly blurted out while grabbing large hooffulls of her mane and tugging on it, her eyes wider than thought possible as she took heavy breaths and freaked out.

“PRINCESS…” Spitfire sharply spoke, getting really sick of Twilight’s inability to control herself. “We just told you everything we know. If we knew where Celestia is, we would have said so. And FRANKLY…!” her tone took a very angry sharp turn. She instantly stopped, catching herself before she could go any further. She almost started railing on Celestia and how much she was sick of the being kept in the dark. Forget Dash, she almost let slip extreme discontent herself.

“Frankly WHAT?!” Twilight pressed, stepping up to Spitfire. Spitfire took a deep breath and sighed, putting a hoof to her face.

“Nothing, never mind…” she deflected and quickly went into damage control as subtly as she possibly could. “This had been a very confusing, frustrating, and uncomfortable journey for us.” She glanced towards Luna, hoping to send a signal to her that she should agree and be honest about it like she was. But Luna remained silent. Spitfire huffed and looked back at Twilight. “The only one who knows anything about Celestia is Discord, and he’s refusing to speak about it. That’s all we know about her, full stop.”

“Why?!” Twilight growled while stomping her front hooves on the floor. “Where is Discord?!”

“Twily…” Shining stepped up to her and placed a hoof on her head again, his voice a little more stern this time. “You need to simmer down.”

“RGGGGGH!” Twilight grumbled loudly, voicing her frustration loud and clear. And apparently that's what finally got Luna to speak up again.

“Discord left us shortly after Soarin was possessed,” Luna spoke, Twilight instantly calming down and sharply turning to her. “He told us of what he knew, which was more than even we knew… and then he vanished and we have not seen him since. And it does not appear that he is sneaking around like he usually does,” she explained before looking towards Spitfire. “And… you must forgive Captain Spitfire’s tone and bluntness. We have had a few clashes amongst ourselves during the journey.”

Dash’s friends and the royals perked up, quickly looking between Luna and Spitfire.

“Clashes?” Cadence asked with a mix of surprise and curiosity.

“Yes,” Luna nodded. “We have been at odds over several things… And have had a few spats over how to proceed. We’ve had our share of yelling matches and disagreements as wel—”

“You YELLED at Princess Luna?!” Twilight suddenly blurted out towards Spitfire, cutting off Luna and wearing a look of absolute shock. While none were as intense as Twilight, the rest of them looked shocked as well… but it was all directed at Spitfire. Spitfire furrowed her brow and did her best to hold in an annoyed growl.

Yep… The loyalty to goddesses was so thick she could almost chew it.

“Princess Twilight… everypony… please…” Luna tried to redraw their attention. “The situation was dire and most unpleasant. You cannot blame Spitfire for being frustrated.”

Spitfire’s eyes twitched hard. She kept her mouth closed but her teeth jammed together as her lips subtly scrunched up.

Luna’s phrasing irked her beyond belief. She made it sound as if she herself had done absolutely nothing wrong. Luna had admitted mistakes directly to them, but the moment she was back in front of her ‘faithful’ subjects, she simply could not admit wrongdoing, could she? Spitfire held herself back, she wanted to explode at her after all they had been put through, but she forced herself to remain disciplined towards their plan. She briefly glanced around at her fellow Wonderbolts and Renegades. It appeared she wasn’t alone, and if not for High Winds covering Blaze with her wing, her clear and visible anger might’ve given them away. She was glad she wasn’t the only one who was deeply put off but Luna just now, but they all kept up the act, or at least kept it up enough for none of the others to notice.

“But now that we are all here,” Luna continued. “We are sure Spitfire is eager to work with us to resolve this crisis and return to order.”

Okay now Spitfire was on the verge of exploding. She didn’t say a word, and the Wonderbolts didn’t say a word, but now it felt like Luna was simply being audacious. Was it because she was suddenly back in an environment where SHE was the ‘leader’ that she felt she could speak in such a way? Whatever it was, they held it in. They held themselves back hard, because despite Luna angering them, if she was truly convinced that they would kneel to her orders now, then that would work to their advantage. As long as Luna was sure she was in control and the rest followed her word, then it would be easier to subvert them.

It took a moment for Twilight to stop staring… or somewhat glaring at Spitfire for her apparent ‘heinous’ crime of disagreeing with Princess Luna. But once again, Twilight caved to Luna’s word, accepting it without question.

“O…okay…” Twilight took a deep breath as she finally looked away from Spitfire and instead focused on Dash again.

Dash swallowed and froze up as Twilight’s eyes landed on her. Thanks to being pressed against Matteo, there was no real shift in how she was already holding herself, but it was a shock nonetheless. And it felt so weird to feel that way. Twilight wasn’t even making any faces or glaring at her, or anything like that. She quietly exhaled as Twilight smiled at her, but she still felt tense.

“Well…” Twilight began as she gathered her thoughts and glanced down slightly. “It sounds like it was a rough trip… I don’t know what to say about the Shadowbolts, but Sombra is clearly the top priority.” She began pacing in a circle. “Obviously there’s no way he can get through the Crystal Empire’s shield. The Crystal pretty much almost destroyed him in our first encounter. But he still needs to be dealt with… and based on his rather one-track-minded behavior when we last saw him, he’ll likely come here first! If that happens, we’re ready for him!”

Spitfire lifted an eyebrow as Twilight suddenly sounded like she had everything so easily figured out. Twilight turned to them and smiled, nodding right at them.

“We brought along the Elements of Harmony! All we have to do is replicate the seal we used on Discord! It doesn’t matter how powerful he is, nothing is as strong as the power of friendship. His negative spirit won’t stand a chance."

Despite the rest of Dash’s friends nodding in approval along with Shining, Cadence, and Luna… The Wonderbolts and Renegades just stared. Spitfire’s mouth opened slightly, her brow flattening as she tried to reprocess Twilight’s words to make sure she wasn’t actually going insane.

The power of ‘Friendship’… against what they all just experienced. Granted, none of them aside from Dash had ever witnessed the power of the Elements of Harmony before, there was no way they could just solve it all in a snap like that. It almost felt insulting after all they had been through to hear such a crude idea. It stabbed even deeper to see Luna nodding in agreement.

Not only that, but did Twilight completely overlook the fact that Soarin’s body was being used by Sombra? Spitfire felt compelled to bring it up, but had determined to keep her mouth shut unless necessary.

The only pony among them that was not put off by the simple ‘solution’ put forward was Dash. In fact, she had to hold in a gasp. She noticed the same thing Spitfire had, albeit a bit more intensely.

Did Twilight really, truly just casually suggest that they use the sealing power of the Elements of Harmony… on Soarin?

Her eyes darted back and forth, nopony seemed to be reacting so…that’s definitely not what she was suggesting, right? She was talking about Sombra right? Dash flinched as Spitfire moved in front of her, looking over her shoulder and staring at Dash for a moment. She could definitely see it written all over her face.

“Excuse me, Princess,” Spitfire cleared her throat and exhaled through her nostrils. “Aren’t you forgetting about Soarin?” she asked while tapping a hoof against the ground.

Twilight stopped and stared at her curiously.

“You HAVE been listening to us… right?” Spitfire added rather sharply. Twilight blinked and her eyes opened slightly wider.

“Oh! No, I have not forgotten, I’m only talking about what must be done about Sombra…” she glanced at Dash. “His soul possessing Soarin’s body is clearly an obstacle but…” she suddenly trailed off.

“But what?” Spitfire pressed, keeping her tone sharp. Twilight only hesitated more before looking towards Cadence and then Luna as if looking for one of them to butt in. Luna did the honors.

“Captain Spitfire, we understand what Soarin means to you and the Wonderbolts, but there is more at stake here than his life alone…” she looked at Spitfire for a moment in silenced before continuing. “Ideally, we wish to save Soarin from such a terrible fate, however…” she closed her eyes. “Sombra MUST be dealt with as quickly as possible. We cannot afford to spend time looking for another solution. If we have no answer to this predicament in short order, we will have to seal Soarin away with Sombra.

That did it. Dash felt like every bit of breath had escaped her lungs.

Spitfire’s eyes had widened as she fought the urge to immediately lash out at Luna. She wanted to absolutely let her have it. She thought that she had gotten through to the goddess, that she had gotten her to soften up and see things from their perspective, if even just a little bit. But from the moment they set hoof in the Crystal Empire it seemed like any lesson Luna had learned had been completely lost, and this took the cake. After all they went through she would so easily sacrifice Soarin?

She had to hold it in though, as she was sure the rest were. They all remembered the plan, and that Luna was the main individual they were trying to lead on. But what were they to do here?

It was such a drastic proclamation! They had to keep up the agreeable act, but it would be absurdly suspicious if none of them lashed out at the very idea.

“HEY! WAIT A MINUTE!”

Spitfire’ ears shot straight up and everypony else flinched as Fleetfoot suddenly yelled from the center of the group. She hobbled forward, almost tripping over her own hooves as she pushed her way past Lightning Streak and stepped up beside Spitfire. She gasped and shuddered, her legs buckling as she leaned and fell against Spitfire, but before Spitfire could offer help, she stood right back up on her own and glared at Luna.

“You’re gonna just give up on him?! After all we’ve been through?!” she yelled, her voice almost cracking as she forced the words out. “That’s so damn heartless! How can you even suggest that!”

The Wonderbolts and Renegades were all frozen. Spitfire glanced over her shoulder to see them all holding fast, clearly at odds with themselves over whether to stop Fleetfoot or not. The only one who was remaining calm was Descent. He was looking down, his eyes scanning the floor. Spitfire had no doubt he was thinking about the absurd conclusion himself, he considered Soarin a rival of sorts after all.

But Spitfire soon found the rest were looking at her, as if they had no clue what to do and wanted her to stop it or get it under control before they snapped themselves.

But… Spitfire just turned back around and watched Fleetfoot.

“We’re not using your stupid elements on him! Screw whatever the ‘power of friendship’ is supposed to mean!” Fleetfoot kept yelling, nearly in tears. “I don’t care who’s controlling him! You’re acting like he doesn’t matter at all! Well he matters to us!”

Spitfire kept her eyes on Fleetfoot as Dash’s friends and the royalty stared at her with a mixture of shock and confusion.

Perfect. This was working perfectly. Fleetfoot had let her guard down, but she hadn’t said anything to give them away yet. Spitfire waited patiently…

“Soarin is still alive out there! Rainbow Dash isn’t dead so he’s not dead either!” she stomped a hoof. “So for fuck’s sake! Step back and think about how to save him first! We don’t even know if Sombra—”

“FLEET!” Spitfire shouted right behind her, silencing her immediately. She wasn’t sure where Fleetfoot was going to go with it, but the moment she brought up Sombra, she stopped her just in case. The timing was intentional, she wanted Fleetfoot to voice their discontent without giving away their plan. “That’s enough, calm down,” she placed a hoof on Fleetfoot’s head gently.

“Spittyyyyyyyy…” Fleetfoot whined as she closed her eyes and a one tear got loose, running down her cheek.

“No, I agree with you completely,” Spitfire nodded, earning surprised looks of varying types from those both behind and before her. “I understand that Sombra is a threat and agree he has to be dealt with…” she lied, glossing right over their plan to send a signal to those aware of it. “But if you want our help,” she sharpened her eyes towards Twilight and Luna specifically. “I want a GUARANTEE that we will look into ALL POSSIBLE OPTIONS regarding Soarin before we are forced to use whatever this seal magic is. I don’t want us to do this and then find out later that we could have saved him.”

Twilight and Luna exchanged glances before Twilight turned and looked towards Cadence as well. She was at a loss for words, looking for somepony to step in again. Spitfire wondered if she was even considering what she had just said. To her it looked like Twilight was looking for one of the other alicorns to justify their initial plan.

“Captain Spitfire,” Cadence stepped forward. “We cannot overstate how dangerous Sombra is,” she tried to explain, just as Spitfire expected. “We know how much Soarin means to you, but one pony’s life cannot be put above the thousands… millions at risk with such a fiend on the loose.”

“Princess,” Spitfire growled. “With all due respect—”

“Captain, please… let me finish,” Cadence cut her off, her ears drooping down. Spitfire blinked, not expecting the subdued tone after dealing with both Luna and Twilight. “We will honor your request and do everything we can to find a solution before moving forward.

“Cadence…” Luna spoke up. “We cannot afford to—”

“I know, Auntie,” Cadence cut her off too, clearly trying to keep the situation under control as Twilight also looked to her for reasons, the rest of Dash’s friends looked equally as eager, all of them agreeing with Twilight without question. Or at least all of them but Pinkie, it was hard to tell what she was thinking or feeling with the same smile plastered to her face non-stop. “We have the numbers and the means among our wizards, clerics, and scholars to dig into our libraries and exhaust our magical texts quickly. But…” she turned back to Spitfire. “We will not drag this out. If we cannot find a solution, then we MUST proceed as planned.”

Spitfire narrowed her eyes briefly, but sighed.

“Alright,” she agreed to the slight discontent of the Wonderbolts, but she quickly reassured them. “EVERYTHING!” she yelled while pointing a hoof at Cadence. “No page unturned, understand? I won’t accept anything less.”

“You have my word,” Cadence accepted with a nod.

“I…” Twilight stepped forward suddenly, brushing against Cadence. “I didn’t want to make it sound like Soarin wasn’t important…” she slowly glanced at Dash. “I know he means everything to Rainbow Dash, and I didn’t mean to imply we weren’t going to try. Knowing Sombra is still alive has me thinking a mile a minute. I’ll do what I can to help too, we just can’t overstate the danger Sombra presents.”

Every word met Dash’s ears and she could see the nods of agreement from the rest of her friends sitting behind Twilight.

But she… was not convinced they were sincere. How? How could she feel that way about her friends? Was it because of how easily they obeyed the word of Luna? How Twilight was unwilling to question her? How she and the others seemed appalled by Spitfire disagreeing with Luna?

What was happening to her? How did it come to this?

As she stared at her friends and tried to figure out if their smiles and words were sincere or not, she began framing the situation in her head.

Everything she had been put through up to this point had opened her mind incredibly. The impossible had become possible, the farfetched had become normal, but more than anything else… trust had become selective and subject to frequent change.

Before all of this happened, Dash never dreamed of doubting the word or actions of the divine sisters. Over the course of this insane journey, they had been walloped right off their pedestals and shown to be fragile and vulnerable, not so different than the rest of them. Even Discord, usually so sure and determined in his beliefs had shown himself to be subject to the very whims and emotions that haunt and taint those who he felt are ‘beneath him’.

Allies were now being scrutinized while some enemies were being trusted. The enemies themselves seemed lost and confused. And now they were conspiring against their allies, not to aid their enemies, but to approach an ancient being that may not really be the villain they were always led to believe.

The situation barely stood on its own four hooves and felt more convoluted than the Equestrian rail map within a quarter-mile radius of Canterlot Central Station. But that seemed fitting considering just how out of control everything had become. Dash had seen the world through a whole new lens that changed her view on so many things throughout all the fighting, running, and surviving. She was sure the rest of the Wonderbolts felt the same way.

Nearly everything they thought they knew was wrong, all turned on its head.

And now here was Dash, looking at five ponies she had had unforgettable adventures with and treated like family…

While wondering if she could trust them.

From where she sat she could look into every pair of eyes. She didn’t even have to get close to see it, to see that there was little depth in their vision. They were all still locked in, trapped in the word of comforts and direction that Dash once knew. They were still caught in their ‘understanding’ of how the world was supposed to work, how Dash once framed it in her mind.

There was no doubt about it. They would never question Luna… and they wouldn’t dare to even think of ever questioning Celestia is she were present.

They all knew what Soarin meant to her, she didn’t doubt that… but she doubted their willingness to exhaust every option. The moment Luna gives them the order to use the elements against Sombra, they would do so without a second thought.

How upside down and topsy-turvy had Equestria become that she felt like she couldn’t trust her best friends?

But… what would happen if she refused to link up with them? What would they say or do should she revolt and not allow them to seal him away?

What if there actually was no way to save Soarin? Would she still go through with it? They needed her for the Elements to actually work, but would she be able to do it? Could she bring herself to seal Soarin away?

Dash felt faint. This was all too much. Thoughts were colliding, narratives were spinning, and uncertainties were beating her over the head with bricks.

At this point she just wanted to go lie down before she threw up.

It looked like they were wrapping up, she had stopped paying attention, but talk had continued about meeting soon to formulate plans and details.

“We will do everything in our power to help as well,” Cadence spoke, the first thing Dash picked up as she came back around.

“The Crystal Guard will be at your disposal,” Shining Armor added, but Dash couldn’t tell if the two royals were speaking to Spitfire or Luna.

Cadence scanned the Wonderbolts and Renegades as Luna began asking Shining more about the Crystal Guard. Dash did her best to avoid eye contact, doing everything she could to not draw any more attention to herself. She was somewhat behind Spitfire too, who had turned and was checking on each of them during the brief break of conversation.

But then Cadence suddenly perked up and blinked, drawing Dash’s attention back to her. Cadence tipped her head curiously, her eyes directed elsewhere. Dash subtly pushed away from Matteo to see what she was looking at.

She was looking towards Descent, but her eyes were not on him specifically, it looked like she was looking near the floor where he was sitting. Dash tilted slightly further…

Starry Skies was sitting behind him and was hunched and scrunched in a manner that suggested she was hiding. Only… her tail was not quite behind Descent.

Descent had been lost in thought, but suddenly noticed Princess Cadence looking in his general direction. He too, followed her stare until he noticed Starry’s tail behind him.

“Hm?” he lifted an eyebrow as he looked down at Starry. Starry flinched and looked directly up at him, half of her face hidden by her new long mane. “Starry, what are you—?”

He was cut off as he suddenly noticed Cadence walk right by him. She stopped mid stride, her eyes widening as she found Starry Skies. Starry’s head instantly snapped to Cadence. She froze as their eyes locked.

Cadence’s eyes opened a little wider, scanning Starry up and down with intense curiosity as she examined the traits of her crystal form.

Fan Art by nightalein

Several other looked over as Descent turned and backed up a little, revealing the stare down.

Before either of them could speak, something else strange happened. Subtle elegant sparkles began to shimmer upon them both, as if their crystal forms were reacting to one another. It wasn’t the bright flashing that happened every time High Winds yawned. It was calm and soft like somepony was shining a light towards them. Cadence broke eye contact and looked herself over, examining the shimmers upon her crystal form, but Starry did not dare move.

As the strange encounter continued and now had the attention of everypony, Dash noticed something. Starry’s crystal from, from the moment she first saw it, seemed very different from the Streak twins and High Winds. It was much prettier, the way the light bounced off of her was different and the physical changes were much more drastic.

Upon closer inspection… Cadence’s crystal form was just like Starry’s.

“Um…” Cadence finally broke the silence. “Pardon me…” she addressed Starry as their bodies continued to calmly twinkle in each other’s proximity. Starry didn’t say a word, nor did she even blink. Cadence took a single step forward. “Your crystal form… it’s…” she trailed off, glancing back and down at her own body for a moment. “What’s your name?”

Without warning, Starry suddenly shot up onto her hooves, turned, and broke into a gallop, heading right for the end of the hall.

“Starry!” Descent yelled, but she didn’t stop.

“Whoa! Starry?! Where are you—?!” Lightning Dust tried too, but neither of their calls swayed her. Lightning Dust took a few steps after her, but stopped before she could get very far. Starry was already out the door and long gone. Dust turned and looked back at Descent, completely confused. “Uh…” she didn’t go any further, Descen’t eyes were locked on Starry’s path. She wasn’t going to get any word out of him. Instead she looked to Cadence beside him. “Excuse me, but what was all THAT about?”

“I’m… no entirely sure,” Cadence shook her head, noticing that the extra shimmer about her body had ceased. “She looked oddly familiar, but I can’t quite place my hoof on it…”

Descent’s ears stood up and he quickly turned to face Cadence.

“Familiar?” he asked, hoping she would elaborate, but she had nothing else to add, leaving the three of them curious, but clueless.

“Well then!” Spitfire suddenly chimed in, pushing her way forward and getting in between them. “That was all VERY interesting, but I’d like to move this along. I still have some thing I want to discuss, but…” she paused as bright flashes erupted from behind her accompanied by the sound of High Winds yawning loudly. She looked over her shoulder at the Wonderbolts, squinting with the rest of them as they shielded their eyes from their endlessly sleepy wingmate. “I’d like to send my colleagues off to their hotels now. I wanted them here for the run-through of events since they were involved, but the rest we can handle without them. I want them to get off their hooves and shut down before they collapse.”

Lightning Dust shot Spitfire a brief scowl for pushing her way in between all of them, but Descent barely moved, still lost in his thoughts about everything he had been seeing regarding Starry Skies. Cadence heard Spitfire’s request loud and clear, and despite her curiosity, she agreed that they had to stay focused.

“Alright… send them along,” she nodded, Spitfire turning the instant she agreed as if she planned to send them regardless.

The Wonderbolts glanced amongst one another as Spitfire hastily turned and moved towards them. While some of them were indeed tired and wanted to get out of there, they were not on the verge of collapsing and were more than willing to be present per Captain’s orders. But the moment Spitfire reached them, she waved her hoof towards her face, beckoning them all to huddle up close. Foxtrot remained in place, but the top elites all gathered in. She specifically reached out and pulled the Streak twins towards her.

“Get Dash the hell out of here,” she whispered. “I wasn’t expecting her hometown friends to show up. Take her to a hotel and put her in a room before they try to press her further, because they will.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Fire nodded, Lightning giving a quick nod as well. Spitfire glanced between all of them. “Keep it up everypony,” she slowly looked over her shoulder. “I think we have a good position he—” she froze as her eyes crossed Captain P.L. sitting apart from where Luna and Cadence were conversing. His ear was turned towards them. Spitfire held her tongue, but flinched as he slowly turned his head to look at them, lifting an eyebrow and clearly curious. Spitfire instantly chastised herself silently for being a little too lax, forgetting about how sensitive thestral ears were.

Everypony else glanced towards him and suddenly realized the situation, but Spitfire was not about to let the plan crash and burn here.

“What?” Spitfire suddenly said towards P.L. in full voice as he held a serious look towards them. Spitfire turned and tipped her head, throwing a hoof out to her side. “Don’t you have a Moon to wax?” she asked while pointing at Luna, grabbing Fire’s plot and brushing a hoof over it.

P.L.’s eyes narrowed into a harsh glare as he scrunched his lips. Fire flinched and awkwardly stood still as the rest of the Wonderbolts broke into a fit of chuckles and giggles. P.L. snorted, and stood up, making his way back over to Luna’s side.

“Phew,” Spitfire sighed as Misty Fly yanked Fire’s plot away from her and hugged it tightly while pouting at Spitfire. Spitfire snickered as Fire glanced at her uncomfortably. “Sorry, spur of the moment, let Misty know your butt belongs to her.”

“Uh…” Fire didn’t quite know how to reply to that, Spitfire waved a hoof.

“Get going,” she quickly refocused them. “I can handle the rest on my own.” She ordered before immediately turning and moving back towards the royals, hoping to distract them long enough for Dash’s sake.

Dash saw the whole thing play out, but barely registered most of it, too focused on how many angles the situation was poking her from, but Fire quickly approached her and Matteo, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

“Let’s go, Rainbow Dash,” he ordered. “While we have your friends distracted,”

Dash looked Fire in the eye, hearing what he said, but not responding immedietly. She was acting ;tired’ like she was told, but the scenario was almost wearing her down to the point where she didn’t have to act. She glanced past him to see her friends were still looking in her direction constantly. Spitfire was doing her best to keep them focused, but it wasn’t coming easy.

“Okay…” Dash nodded as Fire quickly helped her up and pushed her in front of Matteo to get her out of view.

“Matteo,” Fire pointed at him. “You are in charge of her until we reach the hotels, follow us.”

“Yes, sir,” Matteo complied, agreeing to do what he had already more or less been doing thus far.

Dash sighed weakly as they began moving.

So much for relaxing…

---

“Oh… ah…” Dash suddenly slumped to the floor, prompting Matteo, Storm, and Star to all stop in their tracks. Squall took a few more steps before he stopped and turned.

Dash was hunched over, sitting on the floor while panting and sweating. She held a hoof over her heart and took several deep breaths.

“Oh my gosh…” she quietly said to herself as she continued to breath in and out deeply. They had just made it to the end of the hall that lead from the doors that now, thankfully separated Dash from her Ponyville friends. Squall glanced back and forth between Dash and the rest of the Wonderbolts moving on. They had not noticed that Dash had stopped.

“What is it?” Matteo asked Dash as he rested his talons on her back. “Is it Soarin again?”

Dash took another long, heavy breath and exhaled while shaking her head.

“No…” she answered simply. Matteo blinked and tipped his head slightly.

“Then what’s wrong?” he asked. Star hovered up beside him and nudged him lightly in the shoulder.

“Matty, come on…” she lowered herself in front of Dash and gently cupped Dash’s cheeks with her little hooves. “Isn’t it obvious? Those were her best friends from back home!”

Matteo just stared at Star for a moment. Squall kept glancing between them and the Wonderbolts until the top tiers were out of sight. He grumbled and sat down, facing the others while remaining a few paces away as Storm, Star, and Matteo remained around Dash. Matteo finally blinked.

“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked, seriously.

“Really?” Star flattened her brow and put her hooves on her hips. “We’re all trying to keep the Wonderbolt plans a secret!” she said in a hushed tone so none of the stationed guards nearby could hear. “Those are her best friends! It’s hard to lie to your best friends…” she trailed off for a second as Matteo showed no visible response. She snorted and flattened her brow. “Okay, how would you feel if you suddenly had to lie to your wife?” she asked while poking his chest fluff.

“My wife lies to me all the time,” Matteo immediately answered. Causing Dash to let out a snort and chuckle. Star rolled her eyes and poked him again.

“I’m talking about YOU, not her,” she pressed him for a straight answer.

“If I had to lie to her for her own good, I would,” Matteo again answered without hesitation, but Star didn’t let up.

“Okay and how would she feel if she caught you lying?”

“She would swear a lot and hide my oranges from me.”

Star opened her mouth to continue, but went completely silent, blinking as Dash, again, found herself snickering as the exchange went on.

“Uh…” Star slurred. “That’s oddly specific.”

“I like oranges,” Matteo stated the obvious.

“We know,” Storm suddenly cut in as Star kept scrunching her face at the odd thought. He was shaking slightly as well, failing to hold in a few chuckles.

“But I have no trouble lying if I must,” Matteo continued. “Griffons follow logic and reason over emotion.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you have emotions,” Storm asked with a slight smirk.

“I don’t let them get in the way,” Matteo snorted, not picking up Storm’s sarcasm.

“Okay, okay, forget about it,” Storm waved a hoof in front of his face. “The problem is pretty clear. Dash just had to face her best friends. And knowing how loyal Dash is to us, I can only imagine how much it hurts for her to lie to them.”

“That’s not all,” Dash finally spoke up after fully catching her breath. “I know the prince and princess too. They’re related to Twilight.”

Storm blinked and looked towards Dash, his jaw hanging open for a second.

“Holy hell, how did you keep a straight face in there?” Storm asked as his eyes widened.

“I don’t know,” Dash admitted with a long sigh. “I felt like I was going to throw up. My heart’s still beating hard…”

“What’s the big deal?” Squall suddenly spoke up. They all looked towards him wearing varying looks. Dash was too anxious to really show much of a reaction. Matteo, of course didn’t change his look. Star was giving him a very flat look, as if wondering why he bothered to speak. But Storm was glaring at him hard. “It’s not like it’s that hard to lie to somepony,” Squall added. His elegant crystal form sure didn’t change his attitude at all.

Dash blinked and glanced at Storm, immediately knowing what was going to happen next. She honestly REALLY didn’t want to deal with them arguing right now.

“What?” Squall asked as he surveyed the looks being thrown his way.

“Gee, I dunno Shimmer Me Timber…” Storm spat at him as he stood and stomped towards him. “It’s usually considered normal to like other ponies.” He said harshly while pressing a hoof to Squall’s chest hard enough to push him back. As he was forced into the next hallway, Squall quickly reached up and gripped Storm’s hoof as he scowled, scrunching his crystal visage.

“The HELL did you just call me?!” he snarled.

“Guys… Stop,” Dash tried to speak up, but she was too short on breath to manage a strict tone.

“Stooooooooooooooooooooo…”

Matteo blinked and looked back and forth.

“What is that noi—?”

“Guys, COME ON!” Star cut off Matteo, fuming at the two stallions as they continued to find different reasons to be at each other’s throats. “Not now!” she yelled towards them while waving her hooves up and down angrily.

“I outta rub that shiny face of yours with sand paper until it’s grainy!” Storm hissed at Squall as the two butted heads.

“How about you LAY OFF! Why the hell do you care about how I think?!” Squall snapped right back.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORM!”

Dash perked up, her ears twitching as she also picked up the approaching noise.

“What’s that sou—?”

Before Dash could complete the thought, Something grey and yellow shot out from the adjacent hallway and slammed right into Storm. Storm grunted loudly as he was ripped right off his hooves and thrown to the ground. Squall’s eyes widened, his voice cutting off and going silent mid yelling with his mouth stuck open.

Storm sild to a halt on the floor, wincing and twitching with his teeth gritted and his eyes stuck open. Dash, Star, and Matteo quickly stepped up to see what had just slammed into him, only to find…

“D…Derpy?!” Storm managed to react, his surprise and shock cutting right through the pain of impact as he felt the intense squeeze of a very happy and squealing Derpy hooves on top of him, her arms wrapped around his neck and snuggling him into submission. Dash, Star, Squall, and Matteo all stared, taking a moment to register that they were indeed looking at Derpy Hooves, Storm’s look of absolute pain going right over their heads.

“STORM STORM STOOOOOOOOOOOORM!” Derpy continued to squeal and yell his name as she hugged him tighter, Storm’s face nearly turning blue as his body nearly lit on fire within.

“Aie… ah… owowow…” Storm’s voice cracked as he shuddered within the oblivious grip.

“Derpy Hooves?!” Dash finally managed to say as she continued to stare at the two of them on the floor.

“Help…” Storm wheezed, but Dash didn’t even look at him.

“Derpy, what are you doing here?” Dash asked, confused.

“My, my!” A new voice came from down the hall. “If it isn’t Rainbow Dash of Ponyville!”

She couldn’t put her hoof on it immediately, but Dash had definitely heard that voice before. She quickly looked down the hall from where Derpy came, Squall, Matteo, and Star doing the same, all too surprised to register Storm’s pleas for salvation from the floor.

Walking towards them, was none other than Fancy Pants, the famous billionaire business pony from Canterlot. Dash had not seen him in a long time, but she knew that he was teaching Soarin how to use his magic before everything went to hell.

But what was even more surprising, was that he was being followed by Big Macintosh and Braeburn? She spotted Mac soon after seeing Fancy, but it wasn’t until Braeburn had stepped out from behind him that she saw him. Did they follow Applejack here from Ponyville?

“Fancy Pants? Braeburn? Mac?” Dash said each of their names, the only words that came to mind as she struggled to piece it together. It was a mixture of being surprised and being tired. She glanced back at Derpy, who looked like she might accidentally kill Storm with cuddles based on how he subtly writhed in her grip. She noticed the rest of her friends staring at her too, wondering who these three new stallions were. “What are you guys doing here?” she asked, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be following Fire and the Wonderbolts. They were long gone at this point.

“I was told by your good friend Rarity that the Wonderbolts were on their way to the Crystal Empire,” Fancy broke right into an explaination as Braeburn flashed them all a jubilant smile and Mac just remained stone faced. "As soon as she told me she and her friends were on their way to help the Wonderbolts I felt the need to follow and assist as well. The Wonderbolts and I have worked together on more than one occasion after all.” Before he could say anything more, Braeburn slid forward patting a hoof on his chest as he startled Fancy.

“Granny didn’t want Applejack and all her friends heading here on her own with all the crazy hoopla hittin’ the newspapers! So she sent us along to look after the ladies,” he gave his part, only to smirk and glance up at Big Mac who stood silently behind him. “Of course this big lug’s mind was made up before Granny said a word. No way he was lettin’ his little Fluttershy go without him, ain’t that right big fella?”

“Eeyup,” Mac answered simply as he just stared forward at none of them in particular, even though Matteo was blinking and trying to comprehend how he managed to find another pony that was just as large as him aside from Bomber. Dash glanced at Matteo briefly, snickering for a second before Fancy took over again.

“We saw you land, but weren’t expecting you to be in the palace so soon!” Fancy chuckled as his magic removed his monocle and wiped it off with a cloth. “I guess that concludes our tour then, gentestallions!” he said cheerfully as he replaced his monocle and looked over his shoulder. “Oh? Hm…” he tipped his head slightly. “It looks like we lost one on the way.”

Both Mac and Braeburn looked back as well.

“Eh? Did he take a wrong turn?” Braeburn asked as everypony around Dash looked on except for Storm, who might actually be dead now.

But after a moment, Dash’s ears stood straight up, Realization slapping her right across the chops.

“Wait… one more…” she glanced at Mac specifically. “If you guys followed along. Then that means—!”

“Guuuuuuuuuuuys!” a voice echoed from down the hall. “Where did you go?!”

Dash’s eyes grew wide as she heard the voice, Matteo, Star, and Squall all blinked as they snapped their eyes towards the voice coming from around the corner not too far away.

“WAIT!” Star pressed her hooves to her cheeks as she shot up into the air and hovered in place. “IS THAT—?!”

“Helloooooooo!” Guys! Give me a sign or something! I’m lost here!”

A stallion wearing a Wonderbolt flight suit appeared from around the corner.

“Where are—” the Stallion looked towards the group, his eyes landing on Dash and the rest. He froze for a moment, his ears standing straight up, before smiling sheepishly. “Oh… uh… hey guys!”

It was Thunderlane.

Dash’s eyes lit up.

“Thunderla—”

“THUNDERLANE!!!!!!!!” Little Star squealed and launched towards him as he approached.

“How’s it goi—HURK!” Thunderlane gasped as Star slammed into his neck and latched her arms and legs around it.

“Omigosh! It’s been so long!” she giggled as she gave him an affectionate squeeze. She detached quickly and hovered beside him as she walked, smiling giddily while keeping her hooves firmly pressed to her cheeks.

“Hey Star!” Thunderlane chuckled while patting a hoof to his neck. “It really hasn’t been that long…”

“It sure feels like it!” Star pouted at him as the two made their way past Fancy, Braeburn, and Mac, reaching Matteo, Dash and Squall.

Dash just remained in her spot, letting Thunderlane come to her as a big smile remained on her face. Matteo had already gotten up and moved forward to meet them, but Squall had not. Dash glanced at him and noticed he was furrowing his brow and scrunching his lips with a very frustrated look engraved on his crystal face. Dash snickered, know that it was because Star hugged Thunderlane. Dash stood from her spot and cleared her throat.

“You snooze, you lose, Shiny,” she said cheekily, batting her tail against Squall’s chest as she followed behind Matteo. It took Squall a couple of seconds to register.

“Wait, WHAT?!” he blinked and growled, grumbling as he turned his head away and remained in place, leaving himself and a possibly still alive Storm still being crushed behind as the rest met Thunderlane.

“Well met, Thunderlane,” Matteo greeted, not dropping his demeanor at all save for the subtle evidence of a smile curled at the end of his beak.

“Long time, no see you big lug!” Thunderlane gave Matteo a pat on the arm as Star landed on his back and hugged him again, clearly excited to see their old friend from recruit training.

“Thunderlane…” Dash said with a clear bit of fatigue in her tone. “You are a sight for sore eyes…” she said honestly. After seeing her old friends from Ponyville, seeing one she might be able to trust was sending waves of relief through her.

“Look who’s talking,” Thunderlane looked between them, taking in their injuries. “What the hell have you guys been through? You all look like hell,” he put bluntly, but none of them disagreed.

“It’s a long story,” Dash said with a heavy sigh, her ears drooping a little, but before she could go any further, Fancy Pants stepped up to them and cleared his throat.

“Pardon my brief interruption, but I believe it’s safe to assume we will be passing you off to your friends?” he asked Thunderlane. “If so, we’ll be returning to the mares.”

“Oh, should I…?” Thunderlane motioned a hoof from his chest towards Fancy.

“Oh no, my colt, stay! Catch up with your friends,” he nodded with a smile as Mac and Braeburn already started moving towards the main hall where Spitfire and the others were still meeting.

Dash smiled as Fancy and Thunderlane agreed and parted, happy to see he was staying with them right now. It was good to see an old familiar face without the added stress attached, at least so far. She loved her squad and Wonderbolt friends to death, but there was definitely a piece missing when he left to become a reserve.

“Whoa…” Thunderlane suddenly tipped to the side to look past Matteo. Dash refocused and looked over her shoulder to see Squall still brooding a ways behind them… and that Derpy had finally released her death-grip on him and was letting him both sit up and catch his breath. But she knew what had Thunderlane’s attention.

“I know right?” she smirked. “Check out our personal glamorous grump over here!”

“Squall!” Star yelled over to him as she detached from Thunderlane and motioned to him. “Come on! It’s Thunderlane!”

“Feh…” Squall grunted and whipped his head to the side, again forgetting that his crystal mane lacked the flow to get the desired whip motion.

“Saw that coming,” Thunderlane chuckled. “But… how did…?” He motioned to his face while still looking towards Squall. “That happen?” he asked, making a sweeping motion across his face. Dash caught on.

“Oh, the scar? Blade did that to him,” Dash explained in brief. Thunderlane glanced at her and tipped his head.

“Who?”

Dash’s eyes opened a little wider. She dropped the name so casually. She hadn’t realized just how much Thunderlane had to get caught up on. He didn’t even know about the Shadowbolts. There was so much they had to fill him in on, maybe he could come with them back to the hotels.

“Oh, right… you don’t know anything about them,” Dash called out her own mistake. Thunderlane kept looking at her, waiting for more, but she shook her head. “Sorry, I’ll have to explain that later,” she deflected before perking up and looking around. “Oh, did Bulk make the trip with you guys too?” she asked as she looked back at Derpy. Storm had his breath back and was now hugging her tightly, doing his best to hide how much her ‘attack’ hurt because he wanted to give her the hug right back.

“He’s here, but the moment you guys landed he went looking for his dad,” Thunderlane explained.

“Oh, right,” Dash nodded. “Pec Bounce.”

“He’ll be around though, he wants to see you too,” Thunderlane smirked. “I mean, you’ll probably hear him coming.”

“Oh, I know,” Dash smiled and rolled her eyes jokingly as she turned to look at Storm and Derpy again, but the moment her eyes were fixed in the direction of the overly affectionate duo on the floor, they were instantly drawn away towards the doors to the main hall. They were slowly creaking open, and Twilight’s head suddenly poked out. “Oh crap!” Dash yelped and swiftly slid over to Matteo, hiding behind him.

“Huh?” Thunderlane glanced over at the doors, his eyes landing on Twilight as she frantically looked in the opposite direction first. “What’s—?”

“Hold your tongue!” Matteo quickly ordered in a hushed tone and he grabbed Thunderlane by the nose with his talons and held his mouth shut. He quickly opened one of his large wings and curled it over Dash to hide her from view.

But before Twilight could look in their direction, Cadence appeared from the doors as well and walked up to her.

“Twilight, please,” Cadence tried to put a hoof on her shoulder, but Twilight shook it off. “Let it go, they are exhausted.”

“I can’t!” Twilight reached up and tugged on her ears, groaning. “I need to know what’s wrong with her! She’s my friend!”

Spitfire suddenly appeared from the doors as well, clearly frustrated that Twilight refused to listen to her.

“Princess, I know how you feel,” she also tried to put her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, but gripped it strong enough that Twilight’s effort to shake it off failed. She was breathing a little heavily, her mind fixed on both Dash and likely still Celestia as well, which wasn’t helping. Twilight tended to get a little loopy if there was any sort of issue regarding her teacher. “Dash is under my responsibility,” Spitfire continued as Twilight began to shake in her grip. “And she needs—?”

Twilight suddenly spun around and pushed Spitfire’s arm away, her magic coming alight around her horn and a faint glow surrounding her body.

“You don't know how I feel!” she screamed in Spitfire’s face, breath hissing through her teeth as they remained jammed shut. “I don’t care about your responsibility! She’s my FRIEND!”

Spitfire’s face immediately scrunched into a harsh glare as Twilight completely overlooked how she currently felt about Soarin.

Matteo didn’t move, hoping that they would go back in and not look towards them. Dash groaned as she remained hidden beneath his wing. She had been distracted by Thunderlane, but now remembered the situation she was in, the sick feeling in her stomach re-emerging.

“Grh…” Matteo suddenly grunted. Dash peeked out to see Twilight’s eyes had snapped towards them.

She prepared herself the best she could, knowing full well Twilight was about to push her way towards them. But right before she could…

“COMING THROUGH! CLEAR THE WAY!”

The voice came from behind Dash. She quickly recognized it as Mahogany, one of Bliss’ assistants. She turned and looked to see both her and Witching Hour leading a group of Wonderbolt trainers through the hall, each of them pushing along a stretcher that carried the afflicted Shadowbolt captives, and Wave Chill of course.

Keeping Dash pinned to his side, Matteo quickly moved out of the way, Thunderlane and Star moving with them as Squall stepped the other way towards Storm and Derpy. It wasn’t a new sight to Dash, but she quickly looked towards Thudnerlane to see his head tipped. He obviously didn’t recognize any of them, his curiosity mostly drawn by the crystals spread upon their bodies… but then his eyes widened when Wave was wheeled past.

“C…Commander Wave Chill?” Thunderlane said to himself as his eyes locked on the stretcher passing by. He quickly looked back to Dash, his eyes darting to Matteo and Star as well. “What happened to him?”

He didn’t get any response though. Star frowned, her ears drooping as Matteo closed his eyes and sighed lightly. Thunderlane looked to Dash, his eyes demanding an answer, but Dash was too busy watching Wave go by too.

It looked like the commotions and the incoming medical staff had also caught the attention of Twilight and Cadence.

The two princesses went completely silent with shock as the group of sick ponies was wheeled towards them. Mahogany and Witching both waved to Spitfire, beckoning the staff to keep following them as they approached.

Spitfire bit her lip and frowned as she quickly spotted the stretcher holding Wave. It didn’t matter how many times she saw it or how under control it currently was with Moon’s help. The sight stung her every time.

She looked up briefly, finally seeing squad Foxtrot as Twilight had. She blinked and shifted her head from side to side, looking for Fire Streak who was supposed to be leading them away, but he wasn’t there. Her eyes darted between Foxtrot and the afflicted, quickly putting together a plan. She didn’t know where Fire had gone, but now it was up to her to keep Twilight’s attention. She didn’t like having to use Wave and the other sick ponies as a distraction, but it was her only option right now.

“Wh… what is this?” Twilight stuttered, putting a hoof towards her open mouth as the afflicted ponies were wheeled before them.

“My goodness…” Cadence was in a similar state. “Are those… crystals coming out of wounds?” she asked, a slight tone of horror in the back of her throat.

Spitfire quickly stepped up, putting herself into the princesses’ view and making sure they were focused, not looking towards Dash and her squadmates. Chance would have it that Wave was wheeled up directly behind her. She looked down at him for a moment, receiving a weak smile from him. She returned it, but it didn’t last, her lips curling down into a frown as she returned her focus to Twilight and Cadence.

“These are the sick ponies I mentioned, the ones I requested be brought here as opposed to the hospital,” she explained. I don’t think the doctors will be able to help them,” she paused and glanced back at Wave. “The circumstances leading to this particular affliction differ to some of them, but they’ve all been fighting this… ‘disease’ for a while now.” She watched Twilight and Cadence as her explanation sunk in. They were both at a loss for words, staring at the sick ponies with their mouths slightly agape. “We haven’t a clue what to do,” Spitfire continued. “But seeing as how their sickness seems to be crystal and magic related, I thought your wizards and clerics would be better suited to look at them.”

“I…” Twilight broke her silence briefly, shaking her head. “When Rainbow Dash sent me her letter she mentioned something about chaos magic crystals and asked me to do some research.” She looked towards Spitfire. “I found nothing about it in my library, nothing al all… but did those crystals cause… this?” she asked intuitively.

Spitfire nodded while stealing a subtle glance down the hall. She didn’t think to ask anypony to look into the crystals. Smart move by her, even if it came up empty.

“All of them but Commander Wave Chill were using said crystals,” Spitfire explained, waving a hoof towards the sick ponies. “And this is what happened to them once they were deprived of them. It took a short while for it to happen though, so it seems to be a serious form of withdrawal. Wave Chill’s situation was different…” Spitfire’s ears drooped down. “He was captured and… tortured, his body heavily exposed to rays of the crystal magic according to the report I received. He became afflicted shortly after we rescued him.”

She waited a moment for the two to absorb that before getting to the real point.

“I’d also like to mention that we’re certain the endgame of this spread is certain death. The Shadowbolt I mentioned helping us, Moon, recently slowed their progression, but whats slowly happening to them we also saw happen to a few high ranking Shadowbolts, only they were heavily exposed, using three crystal at once. When their crystals were destroyed, they solidified and shattered. Dead.”

Twilight and Cadence both gasped, frantically looking over the crystal afflicted ponies.

It seemed to do the trick, Spitfire had successfully taken their attention away from Dash as Cadence sprang into action. She took a few steps ahead of the medical staff and pointed down the hall.

“Bring them right this way!” she said with a purpose. “We’ll take them right to the grand study so our experts can get to work!” She quickly turned to the closest guard to her. “You there! Send word out, I need all of our wizards, clerics, and scholars to cut short their teachings and seminars and return to the palace at once! This is an emergency!”

“Right away,” the guard nodded sotically before leaving his post.

“I’ll come too!” Twilight quickly joined Cadence’s side. Cadence glanced back at Spitfire as they started moving. She was giving her a harsh stare.

“I have not forgotten my promise, I will evenly split the duties so we may address Soarin as well as this," she reassured her. Spitfire gave a hard nod of approval. "Let my husband know where I am as soon as you finish coordination in there!” Cadence yelled back to her before the two Princesses led the medical staff around the corner.

Spitfire kept her eyes on them until they were out of sight and comfortably out of earshot. She took a deep breath and started turning back towards the main hall, but stopped when her eyes landed on Foxtrot again. She remained still for a moment before shifting and trotting towards them instead.

Dash poked her head out from Matteo’s wing, her eyes locking on Spitfire as she drew near. Dash bit her lower lip as she examined Spitfire’s face. It was mostly a blank expression, she couldn’t read anything from it, but she was worried nonetheless, biting her lower lip as she worried about what her captain would say. She didn’t handle the situation in the main hall very well, was Spitfire angry with her for it?

“Didn’t see that one coming either, huh?” Spitfire spoke as she stopped before them. Dash blinked, Matteo releasing her from his wing as she stepped out in front of Spitfire, her ears slightly drooped.

“I… what?” Dash asked sheepishly, trying to figure out what she meant. Spitfire made a head motion towards the main hall.

“I know how your friends are, Dash, but…” she rolled her eyes and sighed. “Try your best to avoid them. I’ve no doubt you’ll keep our plans secret, but the less they hassle you the better. I don’t want you under any more stress than you already are.”

Dash’s ears slowly turned back up, relieved that Spitfire wasn’t angry, but at the same time she felt distraught. Avoid her friends? Sounded simple but…

“That’s… easier said than done,” Dash exhaled. “For more than one reason. Don’t even get me started on how impossible it is to avoid Pinkie.”

“I know, but…” Spitfire gave her a firm nod. “We have to make this work. We have to do it for Soarin.” She placed a hoof on Dash’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Dash understood loud and clear, the two of them had more than just a wingmate riding on this. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that,” Spitfire added. Dash shook her head.

“No, ma’am,” she answered.

“I thought so,” Spitfire flashed her a weak smile. She looked up for a moment past Dash and down the hall, still no sign of Fire or the others, they were long gone. She looked between all of them again and eventually found Thunderlane. She tipped her head for a moment, examining the Wonderbolt uniform before quickly remembering him. “Ah, Thunderlane,” she said his name, Thunderlane stiffening and standing attention instantly. But she gave no order to be at ease, she simply turned to Dash while pointing at him. “I plan on calling in the reserves, so feel free to fill him in on everything. Just make sure he understands the words ‘Top Secret’.”

“T…top…?” Thunderlane’s eyes grew wide, not finishing the thought as Spitfire scanned them again and saw Derpy with Storm on the floor. It was hard for Spitfire to forget that adorable face, not to mention the fact that she shattered a track record held by a Gold Squad captain. “Her too I suppose,” Spitfire pointed at Derpy. "She’s earned enough of our respect to be in the know.” She turned around and made a hoof motion in the air. “I don’t know where the hell Fire went without you, but leave the palace and try to find them. They’re all staying at the hotels around the palace so somepony should be able to point you in the right direction. Get some food and some rest, see the doctors if you have to.”

She picked up a hoof to start walking, but before she could place it down, Dash suddenly rushed forward.

“Wait!” she called to Spitfire as she placed a hoof on Spitfire’s side. Spitfire stopped and glanced at her, lifting her brow. For a brief second, Dash got a good look at Spitfire up close. She hadn’t really noticed it until now, but Spitfire’s face had signs of fatigue that she was trying her best to hide. It was no surprise, considering how much stress she had been under, so Dash decided to make it quick. She opened her mouth, but did not speak for a moment. Her body moved on instinct as if she wanted to asked something before she knew exactly what it was, but it didn’t take long for her to piece the words together. Aside from Soarin, there was only ONE other thing on her mind. “Where… did they take Silver?” she asked, her voice weak and pleading. “I want to—”

“No,” Spitfire answered quickly. “Go to the hotels.”

“But—”

“Dash, do as I say,” Spitfire cut her off, her tone sharp and stern. “We just sent him to the hospital and I’ve no doubt he’s in the emergency room as we speak. Don’t go over there and cause a scene, let the doctors do their work. I’m worried about Silver too, but until we hear from the hospital, there's is nothing more we can do for him. He’s in their hooves now.”

“Y…yes ma’am…” Dash backed off reluctantly, her ears falling to the sides of her head as she looked at the floor, visibly quivering. Spitfire’s eyes softened as she watched Dash’s body language, she sighed, realizing that she was a bit harsh. She knew how much Silver meant to Dash, hell… to all of them.

“And… please,” Spitfire softened her tone as she placed a hoof on Dash’s head. “Let the others know I’ll be at the hotel as soon as I take care of everything here. I intend to rest too, I’m sure some of them are worried I won’t.”

“Okay…” Dash said quietly, still looking at the floor.

Spitfire perked up, looking down the hall past them as Fire Streak and Misty Fly suddenly appeared around the corner, looking frantically left and right before spotting Foxtrot and rushing towards them. Fire gritted his teeth as he saw Spitfire with them.

“Sorry!” he apologized quickly as he stopped and gave Spitfire a salute. “I… thought they were following us, I take full blame,” he quickly admitted with Misty Fly sliding to a halt beside him and nodding continuously.

“Don’t worry about it, Fire,” Spitfire quickly shook her head. “Disaster already avoided, they’re all yours.” With her hoof still on Dash’s head, she gave her mane a gentle ruffle. “Now get going, take a load off,” she ordered before turning and making her way back to the main hall.

With Spitfire gone and Dash left with a mixture of anxiety and reassurance, they turned and began following Fire and Misty through the halls with Thunderlane and Derpy sticking with them.

Again, Dash felt relieved about Thunderlane and Derpy being with them, and felt even better that Spitfire gave her full permission to tell them everything. After being so shocked and having to keep her lips tight around her old friends from home, it would feel good let it all out instead of keeping it down and choking on her words.

“Uh… hey…” Thunderlane suddenly spoke up as they moved, looking back and forth. “I just noticed… where is Twist—”

“DON’T!” Matteo and Squall both yelled.

---To Be Continued---

Author's Note:

Disaster averted.... or at least temporarily Dash just can't catch a break now can she?

And... can she trust her old friends? They are so blindly loyal to the divine sisters... Twilight nearly made it sound like they weren't even going to try to save Soarin. She admitted to being in fast bookhorse mode quickly after, but in the end will she worry more about Soarin or Sombra? Obviously she will think of Dash... but if push comes to shove... will she defy Luna?

Well at least it wasnt all that bad, BEHOLD! The return of Derpy and Thunderlane! (And the male characters from the rest of my stories too! )

...

Okay seriously, where is Twister?!

(Art in this chapter by: Foxenawolf)

Comments

[Lumica]

[KnightMysterio]

Intense...

[Changeling Legionaire]

Okay seriously, where is Twister?!

I foresee the yo-yo returning from under a sofa.

[Gargon94]

Dammit Thunderlane!?! We don't need Twister right now! Poor Storm, crusted to death by Derpy. I think that Starry might be descended from a member of the Crystal Empire's nobility or something like it. She could also be Cadence's secret sister of some kind. Can't wait to find out next chapter!

[TexasDragon1995]

DAMN IT CALM WIND!! I GOT FINALS TO WORK ON!!

But yeah another fine chapter. Very much looking forward for more.

...

Seriously, the timing of these past two chapters have REALLY been off for me. First World Series and now this?

I should also give you praise on how you're writing Twilight. She's understandably going overboard on the situation in the way I know she would and doing it without fully understanding their full point of view and I love that. I just want to warn you about taking this whole misunderstanding TOO FAR to the point of making her unlikable. I'm reading another story where THAT'S the case and even though I understand why... it still hurts. I love my favorite adorkable little filly.

Other than that, keep up the good work my good man

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

Despite Fluttershy’s small size, relative delicateness, and thin overall stature, Dash was not ready for it, nor was she thinking about bracing herself.

Fluttershy is stronger than you'd think
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mlp+dragon+quest&&view=detail&mid=622FA27C9AB20628F30E622FA27C9AB20628F30E&rvsmid=6C878C77247593D6DF106C878C77247593D6DF10&FORM=VDQVAP

But Dash couldn’t even find time to feel miffed. She was still struggling to come up with some idea of how to handle the situation she was suddenly thrust into. She was caught completely off.....(spell check say "2 words")...guard by her ponyville (Should be capitalized) friends and had absolutely no idea what to say or do. And the fact that she had given them no response at all likely had them even more worried and curious.

“We brought along the Elements of Harmony! All we have to do is replicate the seal we used on Discord! It doesn’t matter how powerful he is, nothing is as strong as the power of friendship. His negative spirit won’t stand a chance.

Needs " mark on the end.

“Get Dash the hell out of here,” she whispered. “I wasn’t expecting her hometown friends to show up. Take her ....(to)....a hotel and put her in a room before they try to press her further, because they will.”

“Oh, the scare? (IMO, you mean "scar") Blade did that to him,” Dash explained in brief. Thunderlane glanced at her and tipped his head.

“Dash, do as I say,” Spitfire cut her off, her tone sharp and stern. “We just sent him to the hospital and I’ve no doubt he’s in the emergency room as we speak. Don’t go over there and cause a scene, let the doctors do their work. I’m worried about Silver too, but until we hear from the hospital, theirs (there)is nothing more we can do for him. He’s in their hooves now.”

The Mane 6 appear to have forgotten part 2 of the pilot, but I'd bet that Luna hasn't. You'd think that the Elements could just blast Sombra loose. IMO, if it was that easy Luna would have sent for them MONTHS ago.

As for Soarin. As Spock said "The needs of the many must outweigh the needs of the few, or the one"
To which I'd add "The many would probably agree with that thought, but expecting the few to also agree is probably expecting too much"

[Brightblue]

Haha I love the ending. Poor rainbow dash. But I hope everything is fine soon for her!

[Lucas318]

Your dedication to this story is unmatched and greatly appreciated. Thanks! <3

[0PinkamenaDianePie0]

Omg I was having a terrible week and this update just made up for it.

[The Pony Eclipse]

Da pony, he likes. i seriously want to find a way to make you go into writing fulll time. I'd bribe you, but i haven't made my millions yet. I got $3.45, a guitar pick and a lint ball from my right pocket. Opening bid... do i hear $4? 4 dollars, who's got 4? *goes into auctioneer mode* 😎

[Hooper_Canson]

Hopefully Twilight and the others don't just blindly follow Luna and the others, because that usually doesn't well.

[coldsilverd]

Now we see just how much the immortals have everyone wrapped around their hooves. Total blind devotion, willing to do anything asked of them. No wonder Sombra hated them.

[Phoenix Flight]

The drama... ITS OVER 9,000!!!
I’m sorry, I had to.

Also:

Okay seriously, where is Twister?!

Google it. No don’t. He’ll probably 4th wall break onto the screen.

Anyway, can’t wait to see where this thing with starry goes... long lost relatives?

Edit: Ya been featured!

[WildStallion]

I’ve a feeling Sombra will casually walk through the shield and up into the castle and stand in the middle like nothing happened.

[Phoenix Flight]

8588564
Like the renegades straight up walking into the compound while Spitfire was on her security craze ...

[sonicx]

calm did you just make Starry Skies related to Cadence by blood? the way you put it i would think so... will sunburst be making an appearance here too?

[Animak]

remind me where to read again to get a refresher on the plan? it's been a while

also
awesome calm

[Minevera]

The way honesty works would be almost a double-edged sword. Granted Applejack can, and will eventually, take the whole story as truth, but at the same time it can sink the operation on account of keeping Luna purposely out of the loop. The latter applies with the rest unless their supposed leader says otherwise.
I'm actually waiting for Sombra to be an unexpected hero in this mess.

[Darth Redbeard]

another really great chapter.

how in the name of Luna do you keep your focus on this story?

[Midday Giggle]

MY

FREAKING

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH

*hyperventilates*

I... I CAN'T TAKE THIS!!! Of all things that could go through Dash's mind, doubting if she should trust her friends?!

You know, I've never cuestioned the "Magic of Friendship" and all of that crap because, shit, this is Equestria, a magical land of pastel ponies. But right know you made the show look so ridiculous and Twilight sound so childish I thought "Yep, definitely she haven't got a clue of what they are dealing with". Really, Calm. You influenced that much in me.

Hey! Why don't we bring the whole Ponyville here already!? Much faster!

Really, the Mane 6 looked so childish in this chapter, I'm patiently waiting for them to open up their eyes (Add Open Up Your Eyes as background music).

And great! You had to suggest to just use the Elements of Harmony and vanish Soarin away along with Mad King Sombra! So clever, Twily!

Great job, Calm. As always.

[Those Kids In The Corner]

“Let the poor gal breathe…” Applejack suggested while grabbing Fluttershy by the scruff of her neck and pulling her off with the extra leverage from Applejack’s magic.

Apple magic!

And do they not realize that Celestia is still bound within Soarin, so if they turn Sombra to stone or some such their precious sun princess is trapped too, or am I missing or forgetting something?

[CowgirlVK]

Twister... I vote preparing to pounce Pinkie

[Veyron]

bye bye sleep

[Animak]

hmm
thoughts and ideas
something that just came to me a bit ago, is it possible for sombras soul to knock up celestias soul if they "do it" or their host does it?
is twister driving Sombra Mad?
will the power of the crown become less over the course of these events?
is starry skies cadances mother? what are their ages?
will the troll door bring confused back?
will storm and derpy "feel the love tonight"?
will pinkie and surprise do a dance off while singing " I'm silly and i know it"

[jnzsblzs]

she was certain she might be able to trust

Okay this sentence made me chuckle more than it should have. I'm wondering if this dissonance was intentional, or not but as per usual it doesn't really matter.

[jnzsblzs]

jnzsblzs's journal entry #42:

The strange hard metalic spots keep appearing all throughout my body. Chemical analysis prove that these spots are indeed metallic in nature, and not just any metal but pure Silver. Despite, the obvious financial benefits this situation has, the situation is beyond worrisome. Normally when a body tries to secrete a certain material like that, it is due to some sort of overdose. However certain circumstances led me to believe that in this case the reason might just be the opposite.

[blastguard]

Spitfire has a lot of patience while dealing with Luna and Twilight on the same time i will give her that.

[Easy breezey]

Great chapter as always and I guess that Starry is related to Cadence...or at least of royal blood

[RainbowDashTheLoyal]

I like how you kept Twilight`s annoying personality. Awesome chapter, I would`ve just flown away after a while to clear my mind. Also if they use the elements will that affect Dash?

[RainbowDashTheLoyal]

I also love how loyalty is tied down with a lot in this chapter.

[danisanerd]

8588939
Everyone but the wonderbolts don't know that yet.

[Dusk_Writer]

I'm wondering, if Soarin/Sombra is sealed away, would something happen to Dash? I don't think that's a risk the main 6 would take…I think? If they mention something happening to Dash would they still go through with it?

I never really realised how devoted to Celestia and Luna the main 6 are, like…wow o.O

And now here was Dash, looking at five ponies she had had unforgettable adventures with and treated like family…

While wondering if she could trust them.

This is cold. You're cold. Y do you do dis to meh, Calm?

With Pinkie being…Pinkie and Twilight having a lot of authority, I really don't think Dash'll be able to avoid the main 6…they can be pretty resourceful if they want to be.

[H3lios]

Disclaimer: this might sound more negative than it actually is. I still think it’s a good chapter.

I have to get a few things off my chest here. First, Spitfire is starting to piss me off even more than Luna. She’s made stupid decisions, put the life of her team and the world at risk, and now for her grand finale, she’s withholding vital information from potential allies despite knowing first hand how catastrophically it backfired for The Sisters. Yes the elements are loyal to Luna because they have no reason not to be. I believe they would be loyal to Dash once it became clear what happened.

And that brings me to Twilight. I’m usually very forgiving when it comes to characters acting country to how they are portrayed in canon, especially if they are in a unique situation that would alter their views. But there’s one scene here that really pushed that line. Twilight is not someone who accepts greater good options. She would never consider sacrificing one to save many. Celestia and Luna I can see doing that, albeit reluctantly, but not Twilight. Furthermore I have to ask what many have already asked but why in the world would she consider sealing an option when the elements are proven to exorcise evil entities?

What I’m hoping you do is either have Dash go behind Spitfire’s back and bring Twilight in on the plan OR have her leave Twilight out and when it’s revealed later have Twilight question why Dash didn’t trust her. Whatever you do PLEASE don’t have her tell Twilight only to have her spill the beans to Luna.

[Calm Wind]

8588255

[Calm Wind]

8588279

Dash's head is in a vice

[Calm Wind]

8588301

Too normal for him, maybe he'll pop out of a soup can or a dirty sock

[Calm Wind]

8588332

Twister can play chess using chinese checkers while sinking your battleship and connecting four. JENGA!

[Calm Wind]

8588340

Thunderlane almost resummoned the loony!

[Calm Wind]

8588353

Ive added a few personal touches to each of the mane six over time as i've written for them. In twilight's case I've made her incredibly over-analytical and at times coming to conclusions before she's finished adding everything up in her head (For instance here when she mentioned sealing Sombra before mentioning she wanted to save Soarin if possible.) I also kept her tendency to remain attached to Celestia's hip, something that has faded in the show due to character growth, but fits well with the scenarios im using in my story. (So one might wonder how this will go down...? )

[Gargon94]

8590002
That he almost did.

[Calm Wind]

8588379

Indeed, no one seemed to mention how they freed Luna, eh?

Thanks for pointing out the errors!

[Calm Wind]

8588387

Dash just can't get away from stress, huh?

[Calm Wind]

8588400

Having lots of dedicated readers helps keep me going! Thanks!

[Calm Wind]

8588408

Glad to help you out!

[Calm Wind]

8588463

Haha at some point in my life i intend to write my own original stories, for now im just having fun with this

[Calm Wind]

8588531

So far it looks like they will, but knowing how things have gone so far, who knows how crazy and twisted things might get?

[Calm Wind]

8588558

The more we see the more we kind of understand where he's coming from, eh? At least to a certain extent.

[Calm Wind]

8588562

Where is Twister?

derherherhohohoho

[Calm Wind]

8588564

HAX!!!!!!!!!!

[Calm Wind]

8588622

Who knows? I wonder what that little interaction and pretty blinking light reaction means?

Sunburst will not be making an appearance, any characters or concepts that exist AFTER the end of season 3 do not exist in my universe. I drew up the story plan then, and to keep it consistent i will not be adding anything in after that point (There is ONE concept from season 4 im considering using later in the story as a means to explain something that i initially felt had no reasonable explanation, but we'll see.)