Chapter 53: The Watcher Revealed
MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 53:
It was so exhilarating to perform again.
Soarin smiled to himself as he stepped off the cab carriage and paid the driver. Spitfire and Fleetfoot stepped out as well as the other cabs pulled up with the rest of the Wonderbolts in tow.
“You look stupid happy…” Fleetfoot nudged Soarin as they waited for the rest to gather. Soarin shrugged.
“Feels good to be on a normal schedule again. I missed doing shows,” he explained.
“You and me both, princess,” Fleetfoot giggled while tapping the metal band on the side of Soarin’s head. He pushed her away comically as she snickered.
They were a military force. Soarin was well aware of that, but the shows were always so much fun, a way to entertain others, and how they earned most of their money. Heavy combat training came with the job, but a lot of the job satisfaction came from performing. He could do two things at once. Protect those in times of need, and bring smiles. Shows were a constant reminder why he never wanted to be anything else other than a Wonderbolt.
Soarin shifted his duffle bag on his shoulder as he looked around and spotted Storm Front lingering as they waited for their security team to arrive. Soarin walked over to him.
“How are you feeling Storm?” he asked. Storm looked towards Soarin, his ears flopped down, he scrunched his face, and averted his eyes. Soarin puffed his cheeks out as snickered. “What?” he asked as he approached. Storm exhaled and shook his head.
“Oh, nothing… I’m fine just…” Storm remained facing away. “Just a little embarrassed… I mean, I was crying like a little foal in front of you yesterday,” he admitted. Soarin smiled and shook his head.
“It’s alright to be vulnerable sometimes, Storm,” Soarin looked around at the rest of the Wonderbolts relaxing and taking a load off as the final two cabs arrived. “The Wonderbolts are like one big family, Storm. We look after each other,” he nudged Storm in the shoulder. “You think crying once is bad? Do you have any idea how many time’s Spitfire has pulled my bawling ass out of a corner and told me to stallion up?” Soarin cracked a smile as Storm burst out laughing.
“Wow! I’m glad you didn’t do that to me…” he comically brushed his hoof over his forehead in relief.
“That’s not what you needed. That works on me because I used to cry over the dumbest things, but that was something personal you were dealing with, so I took the soft approach.”
“Well, thanks, I really did appreciate it…” Storm paused and snickered.
“What?” Soarin smirked.
“The great commander Soarin was a crybaby?” Storm chuckled to himself. Soarin firmly placed a hoof on Storm’s head.
“Don’t you go around telling everypony that now!” Soarin said harshly, but with a smile.
“EVERYPONY READY UP!” Spitfire called out. Soarin and Storm looked towards the final two cabs.
“Alright, time to move out,” Soarin said as they moved towards the center of the plaza with the rest of the Wonderbolts. Storm was actually curious why they had stopped in this particular clearing instead of Grand Manehatten Station which was one block around the corner. Soarin spoke up again before he could ask though.
“So how is your little lady friend?” Soarin suddenly sprang on him, making Storm think back to Derpy. He smiled as he remembered how happy he was to see her the day before.
“She’s doing fine… I’m so glad she showed up. You have no idea how much that helped my mood,” Storm grinned sheepishly and blushed lightly.
“You kidding me?” Soarin laughed. “Your head turned around so fast when you heard her… I’m surprised your neck didn’t snap off!”
They shared a good laugh. Soarin was taking a liking to Storm. Dash was right, he was a nice guy. If there was one thing Soarin had felt was lacking over the years as a Wonderbolt, it was that he didn’t really have a guy friend. A bro. Spitfire and Fleetfoot were his best friends, he would never deny that, but he lacked male camaraderie.
Rapidfire, obviously, did NOT fit that criterion. As much as he liked Fire and Wave, they were both a bit duty bound and stiff. Silver, while the two shared a mutual respect for each other, weren’t really buddies. Lightning was an idiot. Soarin wasn’t minding Air Mach, but he was so ridiculous that Soarin didn’t always feel comfortable being seen around him. From there on down through the Wonderbolt ranks, to everypony else, he was Commander Soarin.
Storm, in a way, reminded Soarin of himself, the way he was always trying to be friendly and putting others way before himself. Storm was new to the elites, so Soarin tried to forge the relationship quickly. He wanted Storm to trust him and not feel the need to be a kiss ass to authority. Soarin was happy… he may finally have found a real bro.
“Glad you guys could make it,” Spitfire’s voice caught their attention. However, she wasn’t speaking to them. Storm watched as eight large earth stallions wearing the Wonderbolt officer uniform stepped out of the cabs. Spitfire looked between them all. “Traffic on the way from the hotel?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am!” the stallion in front nodded.
“No matter, you know what to do. There’s twelve of us, can you guys manage that?” Spitfire continued. The stallion nodded again.
“Leave it to us!” he replied.
“Everypony pile in!” Spitfire yelled to the rest of the Wonderbolts. Storm looked around as they all bunched together and the eight earth stallions surrounded them.
“I’ve been meaning to ask…” Storm spoke up to Soarin. “Why were we let off almost two blocks away? And I didn’t know a security team was here with us…”
“Oh…” Soarin chuckled as they began moving as a group towards the corner before the station. “They usually arrive separately at night after our show is over, they spend the night and help us leave,” Soarin explained.
“Help us leave?” Storm asked what was on his mind. Soarin nodded.
“Ponies usually don’t know exactly when we’re arriving… so going places isn’t so bad save for a few reporters who get their hooves on that info… but when we leave…” Soarin trailed off as they turned the corner. The station was in view, but Storm found himself nearly blinded by camera flashes.
Reporters and the media were everywhere, packed on the path leading up to the station. They were taking photos and trying to ask questions, but the earth stallion security team pushed their way through the crowd, giving the Wonderbolts a comfortable bubble as they moved. Storm wasn’t sure what to do, he was being asked questions… should he answer?
“Just keep walking,” Soarin smirked as they moved. “Company policy states that we only answer questions and get interviewed right after shows. This is a well-known fact, but reporters try this anyway,” Soarin shrugged. “Besides, I’m tired of answering questions about this…” Soarin tapped the metal band of the false horn as multiple questions about it came flying in his direction.
“Yikes… and I thought it was bad after the show…” Storm commented as he subtly glanced around.
“Welcome to our life,” Soarin patted him on the back as they neared the station entrance. Station security was doing their best to prevent reporters from entering while trying to keep a path open for Manehatten citizens to access the station amid the cacophony. Once the Wonderbolts got into the station they would be home free with little hindrance, save for maybe a fan or two looking for a picture or autograph.
They were a few steps from the entrance when Soarin blinked and glanced up.
Up on the roof of the station…
A white pegasus with a short grey mane and—
The pony ducked down, hiding before he could make out anything else.
Soarin froze in place, staring upward. He KNEW he saw that. So he wasn’t going crazy, was there somepony watching them? The pony was wearing a strange outfit too, but they moved away before Soarin could get a good look.
“Soarin!” Spitfire yelled, catching his attention. Soarin looked down and saw Spitfire pointing into the station where the rest of the Wonderbolts had already entered. One of their guards was already holding back a reporter trying to get to him. “Let’s go!” Spitfire ordered. Soarin glanced up one more time before trotting towards the doors and entering the station.
The Wonderbolts made their way through the halls of Grand Manehatten Station, eventually finding their way to their designated platform. They had an area roped off with their security team posted around it to give them a comfortable space to relax since they had an hour before their train left.
The platforms were organized differently than at Canterlot Central. Instead of one prime platform there were five ‘main’ platforms, each with seven platforms that extended out from dead end sidings. Also, instead of a ‘hangar’ type room, the platforms at Grand Manehatten were open air with a large glass canopy overhead.
A few pegasus reporters tried to sneak in from outside, but Grand Manehatten security was on their hooves and alert, especially with the Wonderbolts in the station.
Spitfire rolled her eyes as Fleetfoot went off to harass the clerk at a nearby coffee shop… again, before turning her attention to Soarin. He was looking around as if keeping an eye out. He had been acting strange both days. She thought it was nothing, but when he did it again just now before they entered the station, she had to ask.
“Alright Soarin… what is it?” she asked sternly as she approached him. Soarin looked down at her, before glancing about again.
Soarin sighed. He didn’t think it was anything, but after finally catching somepony who was suspiciously watching, he had to address it.
“This whole trip, from Canterlot Central, during the show, and up till now, I swear somepony is watching us or following us,” he stated. Spitfire lifted an eyebrow.
“Being watched? That’s a new one…” she replied sarcastically. Soarin furrowed his brow.
“Spitfire, I’m being serious,” Soarin tried to put his hoof down on the matter. Fleetfoot trotted up to them holding a paper coffee mug in her hoof.
“Did you forget we’re celebrities?” she joked as she took a sip. Spitfire smirked at her.
“That was fast, I take it he wasn’t worth the flirt?” Spitfire glanced back at the stallion running the coffee shop. Fleetfoot shuddered.
“He was a chatter box, I had to escape before he sucked out my soul…” she explained as she took another sip.
“HEY!!” Soarin stomped, re-catching both their attention instantly. Fleetfoot yelped as she almost spilled her coffee in surprise. “I’m not kidding!” he exclaimed. Spitfire and Fleetfoot glanced at each other briefly. “I saw a strange looking pony up on the roof of the station just now. As soon as I looked, it ran away! I’ve been seeing somepony sneaking around out of the corner of my eye the whole trip!”
“Soarin, relax, it could’ve been a shy fan,” Spitfire flattened her ears. “I think you’ve been bottled up in the compound too long.”
Soarin ignored her and kept glancing around.
“Soarin… RELAX!” Spitfire repeated.
“Hmph…” Soarin grunted as he turned away from them. He was certain the pony wasn’t a reporter or fan… they had clearly been following them since Canterlot the day before. Soarin kept looking about because he was convinced he would find something if he looked hard enough.
Speak of the devil. He purposely didn’t look directly at whoever it was… but Soarin could see the head of a grey pony sticking out and looking at him all the way down by the train at the edge of their platform.
If Spitfire and Fleetfoot didn’t want to believe him, fine, but he wasn’t going to sit by.
While constantly keeping a ‘subtle’ eye on the pony in the distance, Soarin casually took a deep breath and slowly let his bag off his shoulder. He cracked his neck and shook his hooves out with his back turned to the observer in the distance. Spitfire and Fleetfoot both looked at him quizzically.
“What are you doing warm-ups for?” Spitfire lifted an eye brow as Fleetfoot happily sipped her coffee while mumbling the word ‘caffeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeine’ slowly. Soarin glared at Spitfire.
“Because they’re behind me over by the train,” he said with a wink before spinning around quickly and planting his hooves on the concrete of the platform. He immediately pushed through the motions of his Sonic Blast-off and fired from his spot down the platform.
“WHOA!” Fleetfoot yelled as she was blown over and spilled her coffee all over the ground. Spitfire held herself steady and her eyes widened as she saw Soarin speeding towards a pony by the train.
“SOARIN!?” she yelled after him.
Soarin streaked along the ground, the pony watching him realizing Soarin was shooting towards him a little too late. The mystery pony stepped back and kicked off the platform, but couldn’t turn around before Soarin was upon him. Soarin collided with the pony, pressing his hooves forward, but the pony caught his hooves as they rose up into the air.
“Fleet! Let’s go! After him!” she ordered.’
“My coffeeeeeeeee…” Fleetfoot whined with her nose to the ground. Spitfire yanked her up by the shoulders.
“NOW!” Spitfire yelled as she took off. "Everypony else stay put!" Spitfire ordered as she and Fleetfoot took off after Soarin.
Soarin pushed the pony out of the station and up into the air. The pony was a pegasus, spreading its wings and pumping them down to rip free of Soarin’s grip. They came to a stop high above the station and Soarin stared… his eyes widening as he took in the pony’s outfit.
Like he saw before, the pegasus was white stallion with a short grey mane. He was wearing a pair of red flight goggles and a red headband tied off around the back of his head.
These things were all beside the point…
He wasn’t wearing the head mask… but the pegasus was wearing a flight suit… a black and purple flight suit with a thin lightning bolt design along the sides…
A Shadowbolt uniform.
“Who are you?! Why are you following me!?” Soarin demanded, but before he could get an answer, the Shadowbolt smirked and dropped into a nose dive. “HEY!” Soarin yelled out as he gave chase. “GET BACK HERE!”
The Shadowbolt pulled up, using his speed from the dive to shoot himself towards downtown Manehatten. Soarin gritted his teeth and pumped his wings. He had to close the distance between them as much as possible. He wasn’t going to catch them before they reached the tall buildings of the city. If he didn’t get close enough he would easily lose the Shadowbolt.
Soarin grunted as he forced his wings as hard as he could. The Shadowbolt glanced back at Soarin and smirked. He stretched his wings out and gave a heavy wing beat forward. An audible blast of wind burst out in front of him, shifting his momentum so much that he nearly came to a complete stop just before entering the city.
“Whoa!” Soarin yelped as he flew right past the Shadowbolt and instantly put up his wings to air brake. He spun around twice, out of control before catching the air with his wings and stabilizing himself. He glared at the Shadowbolt as he readied to thrust at him again.
“Heh!” the Shadowbolt chuckled as he stopped flapping his wings and let himself free fall. Soarin growled and dove after him. Clearly this Shadowbolt had no idea who he was messing with. Soarin was NOT going to be taunted.
The Shadowbolt extended his wings out to his sides, but didn’t flap them. Right before he hit the street below, he pulled up into a glide, zooming right above the busy streets in between the buildings. Soarin’s eyes followed the Shadowbolt, but he didn’t give immediate chase. The Shadowbolt was gliding down a fairly wide open area in a perfectly straight line.
Soarin dropped all the way to the sidewalk and fixed his eyes down the road. A bunch of ponies stopped and stared at him. A few calling out his name and some approaching. Soarin quickly stomped his front hooves to the ground and bared his teeth.
“STAY BACK!” he barked at the bystanders. They all flinched and backed away. Soarin proceeded through the motions of the Sonic Blast-off. Soarin propelled down the street, pitching slightly upward so he would shoot over all the carriages and ponies packed in the area. His sonic boom caused the ponies to yelp and gasp and the wind in his wake caused ponies to lose their hats, food stands to be knocked over, and carriage drivers to sway as their carts tipped and lurched. “GOT YOU!” Soarin yelled as he rapidly approached, less than two pony lengths from the Shadowbolt.
Again, the Shadowbolt chuckled at him. He tilted his wings slightly up, the wind riding beneath his wings pushing him a little higher. Soarin zoomed right beneath him again, but Soarin wasn’t fooled this time.
Soarin flattened his wings and forced himself to turn around while air braking backwards. He slowed down just enough to touch down and let his hooves skid backwards across the pavement. A few carriage drivers had to veer off to avoid him.
“HEY! WATCH IT BUDDY!” one of them yelled at Soarin, only to have both him and his carriage blown completely over as Soarin pulled another Sonic Blast-off and fired right back at the gliding Shadowbolt. There was no way he could avoid it, Soarin was too close.
But then the Shadowbolt made an impossibly tight turn, turning down another street.
“No way!” Soarin exclaimed as he tried to force himself to turn down the same street. Soarin ended up taking the curve way too wide due to his speed and bounced against a window of a nearby shop, luckily not breaking it as he lost control and bounced against the concrete. The false horn smacked against the ground, sending a painful shock through his head. “OW!” Soarin put a hoof to his forehead. It was only a sudden jolt, but for a moment he was worried something would happen again. He had to be careful about the horn regardless of how he was feeling. At this point he was aware it was kind of connected to his brain.
He shook off the discomfort and glared after the Shadowbolt as he continued to glide and pitch upward among the tall skyscrapers of the city.
Gliding… this pony was doing all of this while gliding? He had never seen a pony use gliding in such a skillful way before, it was almost like he didn’t have to pump his wings and simply ride the wind by keeping his wings firm and steady.
Soarin readied to use the Sonic Blast-off again, but stopped himself before lifting off and accelerating after the pony normally. He couldn’t risk overusing the Blast-off. There was much less strain on his body than their used to be, but he didn’t want to overdo it.
He had to approach this more carefully. The Shadowbolt was toying with him. Soarin couldn’t keep leaping full speed at him. Every time he did he ended up being tricked or horribly overshooting his target. Unfortunately, this made it hard to keep up.
Soarin pitched and turned around the tall buildings as he chased the Shadowbolt high into the city skyline, making multiple circles and passes around some buildings. He almost felt like the Shadowbolt was testing him. Whatever it was, it was clear the Shadowbolt wasn’t too interested in escaping, which seemed strange since he had been ducking and hiding while stalking Soarin.
It was getting frustrating. No matter how many times Soarin managed to catch up, the Shadowbolt would take another sharp turn or make another sudden height change to throw him off.
Soarin was CLEARLY a better and faster flyer, but this Shadowbolt and his strange gliding flight style were playing him for a fool. It didn’t help that Soarin still had a bit of a headache from when he hit the horn against the—
Soarin blinked in realization as he tried and failed to make another turn as sharply as the pony he was chasing.
He didn’t even think about it! Magic! He had magic! But… was it a good idea to trust something he had only recently gained SOME control over? He didn’t feel like he had much of a choice. The way things were currently going, he was never going to catch up. For all he knew the Shadowbolt’s strategy was to wear him down and then attack.
Soarin stopped thinking about it and fixed his eyes on the Shadowbolt as the two weaved and turned around the buildings at high speeds.
“Grgh…” Soarin grunted in frustration as he found it hard to focus. He had never used his magic willingly while flying. Nor had he ever used the offensive magic on a moving target. “C’mon! Concentrate Soarin!” he coached himself as he kept his eyes on the Shadowbolt. “Yes!” he exclaimed as he felt the magic sensations build from within him and focus in the horn. A faint blue glow shone from the top of his vision as the horn came to life.
He steadily aimed the horn at the Shadowbolt, doing his best to keep concentrated as they made three circles around a building. The instant they left the building’s orbit, Soarin planned to unleash the built up magic.
“Come on! Come on!” Soarin used negative emotions built from being toyed with the fuel the power flowing into the horn.
The Shadowbolt finally broke off and glided in a straight line down a street.
“NOW!” Soarin whipped his head back, flapping his wings a little extra to keep himself level, and snapped his head forward. The magic jettisoned from the horn, expanding into a thick, powerful beam that expanded to about a five inch diameter. It shot towards the Shadowbolt as Soarin struggled to keep himself perfectly still in fear of any movement off center bending the beam either towards the buildings or down to the pony filled streets.
The Shadowbolt looked back just in time to see the magic less than a foot from colliding with him. In a nearly impossible display of reflexes the Shadowbolt forced his wing upward out of the glide. The motion pushed him down, but not before the magic beam nicked him on the shoulder. The Shadowbolt grunted in pain as the glancing hit caused the beam to bend upward and fly harmlessly into the sky.
“Damn!” Soarin yelled as he saw it miss. The Shadowbolt quickly took evasive action. Now it looked like he was running.
Soarin decided to give it another shot as he turned the corner to follow. Soarin was having a hard enough time keeping up with this crafty Shadowbolt while he was toying with him. Now that he was actually trying to get away, Soarin had maybe one more shot. He focused, the magic building faster this time after having just felt it. The focus came easier. The first trial of magic in flight was over. Now he had a clear shot.
“GOT YOU!” Soarin yelled as he pulled back and thrust his head forwards again.
Or maybe he didn’t…
The beam fired from the horn, but curved way off target. Soarin barely had time to gasp before the beam struck the corner of a building and exploded… quite violently. It was both a good thing and a bad thing. It was good because the shockwave of the explosion actually forced the Shadowbolt to shield himself and slow down. Debris even struck him, knocking him off course. But there was debris… that was the bad thing.
A few heavy chunks of metal and glass fell from the building a good twenty stories up from the ground. Soarin looked down in horror as ponies screamed and scrambled below. He had to go help, but if he did he would surely lose the Shadowbolt.
Luckily, the dilemma solved itself.
“Everypony MOVE!” Fleetfoot yelled as she came shooting towards the hazard area at a low altitude. As she approached she began spinning slowly, eventually twisting very fast, creating a circular wind around her body, she pitched upward and threw her limbs out, forcing the orbiting wind around her to expand as it grew in strength. Turning it into a mini tornado that cushioned the debris as it fell. She flew in circles around her whirlwind to keep the debris airborne long enough for the ponies to clear out.
“Soarin!” Spitfire yelled from behind Soarin. He didn’t listen. He rushed at the Shadowbolt, pressing his hooves to his shoulders and slamming him against the side of another building. “Soarin!" Spitfire yelled his name again, flying up behind him. “What the HELL are you—”
The Shadowbolt sneered and unexpectedly threw a headbutt right into Soarin’s nose. Soarin grunted and backed away while holding his nose, but the Shadowbolt held steady in the air with his back to the building. Spitfire stopped and stared wide eyed.
“Wh-what…?” Spitfire blinked as she gawked. “A Shadowbolt?!” she exclaimed, but looked him over curiously, taking in the red headband and goggles as well.
“Still think I need to relax?” Soarin hissed at Spitfire for doubting him as the two faced the smirking Shadowbolt.
Fleetfoot let go of the whirlwind once all of the ponies below were clear and flew up to join them.
“What the hell is going—” she paused for a second as she eyed the Shadowbolt uniform. “WHAT THE F—”
Before anything else could happen, the Shadowbolt pumped his wings forward sharply and suddenly. A small burst of wind extended from them and crashed against the Wonderbolts. It was weak, and only blew them back a couple of inches, but it distracted them just long enough for the Shadowbolt to break to the right and try to get away…
However…
“PAH!” Air Mach came in out of nowhere and body slammed the Shadowbolt back against the building. Soarin, Spitfire and Fleetfoot all regained their composure and blinked, quickly looking to their left to see Air Mach struggling to hold the Shadowbolt down. The Shadowbolt pushed off with his wings and punched Air Mach clean across the jaw, sending both of them floating out from the building. Soarin was already moving in to assist, but Mach spun around and returned the punch with twice the power, smacking the Shadowbolt right in the eyes, forcing his goggles to shift awkwardly and the band to snap completely as his head spun around from the blow. The goggles flew off his head and fell from his face all the way down to the street below. Air Mach shifted around as Soarin, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot all moved in and surrounded him.
The Shadowbolt had turned around, facing the building with his back to the four of them.
“You’re outnumbered! Give up!” Spitfire yelled as the Shadowbolt slowly removed his hooves from his face he shook his head and started chuckling.
“What’s so funny?” Soarin snarled at him, fed up with how much the Shadowbolt had messed with him. The Shadowbolt turned his head just enough so they could barely see his eyes and face.
“Oh… nothing…” he spoke. His voice was of middle pitch, but sounded older or refined. “I just find it amusing… it takes four of you to corner me…” he continued to snicker. “So much for the young, fresh, and fast replacing the ‘old and worn out’…” he commented.
“What?” Spitfire blinked and glanced at Soarin. Soarin glanced at her and shrugged.
“Don’t mind me… I’m just getting nostalgic…” the Shadowbolt sighed.
“Wait… that voice…” Spitfire blinked.
“Taataa!” the Shadowbolt suddenly waved, folded his wings and dropped like a rock below them.
“Oh no you don’t!” Soarin was after him in an instant, with Fleetfoot, Spitfire, and Air Mach all following close behind. They were no more than twenty-three stories high, but the Shadowbolt pumped his wings, accelerating his descent towards the street. The Wonderbolts gave chase, but began worrying about pull up time as the concrete approached.
Then the unthinkable happened.
The Shadowbolt shot full speed towards the ground… and fired RIGHT into an open sewer hole that was being worked on below. All the sewer workers yelped and fell away from the hole as the Shadowbolt shot directly into it.
“WHOA!” Soarin yelped as he quickly thrust his wings out. He had the strongest air brakes of the lead squad, so he quickly threw his arms out and caught Spitfire and Fleetfoot as he strained his wings against their fall. He managed to veer off and the three of them fell roughly against the ground, but only with the force equal to falling from four feet in the air. They bounced to a stop as Air Mach came streaking by while trying to pull up, and ran into them, causing a four pony pile to roll and scatter, all four of them falling back in different directions.
They all lay still for a moment, groaning in discomfort from the impact. Soarin was the first to sit up. He glanced around as ponies began to approach them.
“Shit…” he cursed as he got to his hooves. Spitfire, Fleetfoot and Air Mach all did the same, slowly.
“Everypony back-off!” Spitfire yelled, halting the advance of civilians. Her voice was stern enough to get through to them. Soarin ran up to the open sewer, pushing past a few workers as he did, and peered into it.
The Shadowbolt was long gone.
“DAMMIT!” Soarin yelled while stomping his hoof hard to the concrete. Spitfire joined him and looked into the hole.
“I owe you an apology Soarin…” she began as the two peered in. “Somepony was following us…”
“I thought the Shadowbolts were over and done with…” Fleetfoot said as she trotted up behind them and looked around.
“We never confirmed anything afterward…” Spitfire shook her head. “They literally scattered in all directions, their airborne fortress broke to pieces, and we found no sign of Nightshade…” she rambled as she turned to Fleetfoot. “That’s what your report said right?” she asked. Spitfire was absent during that battle and still felt ashamed about it.
Soarin looked up and around, his eyes landing on the cracked pair of red flight goggles lying on the ground nearby. He broke away from the mares and trotted over to the goggles, picking them up off the ground and staring at them carefully.
He had been wondering about the round, red goggles… and the red headband for that matter. The Shadowbolts typically wore yellow, angled goggles. The Shadowbolt also didn’t have a head mask piece to his uniform.
“I like the color!” Air Mach walked up beside Soarin and looked down at the goggles. “But the style is off… round is too bland!” he commented, not being serious at all, but Soarin smiled. Had Air Mach not stepped in and given the Shadowbolt a good clock across the face, Soarin wouldn’t be holding onto the only piece of mysterious evidence left over by the encounter.
“Thanks for the help Mach,” Soarin patted him on the shoulder.
“Hey! I’m a GENUINE lead squad Wonderbolt! You all took off and you thought I was gonna let you go without me?! HELL NO!” Mach looked like he wanted to keep preaching, but Soarin held a hoof over his mouth.
“Let’s leave it there dude,” he held up the goggles. “But seriously, thanks,” he nodded before walking back towards the mares, who were looking around at the ponies approaching them again.
“We should probably get back to the station… our train is leaving soon,” Fleetfoot suggested. “And I’m not in the mood to fight off a crowd right now…” she added while grimacing at the approaching fans/bystanders. Spitfire nodded.
“Let’s fly!” she ordered. All four of them sprang up and flew back towards the station before any more of a scene could be caused, and before any local authorities began to question them. The Shadowbolts were their problem, nopony else’s.
Soarin pulled up alongside Spitfire as they flew.
“Spitfire, his goggles…” he held them out. She took a good look at them as he spoke. “Something’s up here, these aren’t Shadowbolt goggles.”
“But he wore the uniform. At least part of it,” Spitfire scratched her chin as they flew around the buildings. “And… I swear…” she pondered out loud.
“Swear what?” Soarin quickly asked. Spitfire shook her head.
“I can’t remember if I’ve seen him before, I didn’t get a good look at his face, but I swear I’ve heard his voice before… I just don’t know where,” she explained while furrowing her brow. “And then what he said… the ‘the young, fresh, and fast replacing the old and worn out’…”
“Just great…” Soarin growled. “I thought we were done with Shadowbolts…”
“I wouldn’t be so quick to call him a Shadowbolt…” Spitfire spoke up again.
“What do you mean?” Soarin asked as they cleared the tall buildings and the station platforms came back into view.
“The Shadowbolts were mercenaries, right?” Spitfire pointed out. “They were all scattered after you fought Nightshade…” she shrugged. “Mercenaries will do anything to make bits… so maybe he’s working for somepony else entirely,” Spitfire explained. Soarin blinked as he thought about it. That actually was highly possible.
“But it seems awfully convenient he was watching us. I’m not convinced he’s just working for a random client,” Soarin gave his opinion as they all pitched down towards their platform. Spitfire shook her head.
“I said it was a possibility. To be honest, Soarin… they could have just changed uniforms. We honestly don’t know,” they landed and were approached by the other squads, including Storm Front, but Spitfire put up a hoof and shook her head. They all stopped and left them be as Spitfire turned to the rest of the lead squad. “Whatever it is, we have little to go by to start making assumptions,” she pointed to the goggles in Soarin’s hoof. “I want to take these back and show them to Luna… possibly Discord too. Just in case they’ve seen or know anything. For now… let’s just go home, I’m tired,” she admitted as she finished. Fleetfoot let her head lean back and she groaned.
“I hear you there… I’m going right to the training room and demanding a massage from Bliss as soon as we get back…” she whined as she turned and went to find where she set her belongings down.
“I could give you ONE HELL of a massage if you’d like FLEETUMS!” Air Mach called out as he zipped over to her. Fleetfoot instantly grabbed him around the neck and snarled into his face.
“WHAT DID I TELL YOU WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU CALLED ME THAT AGAIN?!” she growled.
“Something about disemboweling me? YOU CAN’T DISEMBOWEL A STALLION LIKE ME! I’M DISEMBOWEL-PROOF!” he chanted as Fleet forced him to the ground before moving on.
Soarin snickered a few times as he gathered his duffle bag. He had never heard somepony use a four syllable word three times in ten seconds. Only Air Mach.
“Soarin…” Spitfire suddenly put a hoof on his shoulder. He blinked and turned to her.
“Yeah?” he said as he turned to her. She shook her head.
“PLEASE… be careful with your magic… I don’t want to start getting damage bills,” she ordered.
“Oh…” Soarin grimaced, remembering his second attempt at magic blew the twentieth story corner of a building to pieces… and almost hurt ponies below. “Sorry… first real attempt.”
“I’m aware,” she said sternly. “But… again, I apologize… I shouldn’t have doubted you so easily,” she bowed her head slightly in shame. Soarin smiled and ruffled her mane.
“Hey, I thought I was seeing things at first too. Don’t worry about it,” he held up the red goggles. “Worry about this…” he said as the conductor called for all aboard. The Wonderbolts began moving towards the train, walking past Soarin and Spitfire.
“Seriously though… let’s just get home first…” Spitfire let out a long, heavy sigh.
“I agree…” Soarin nodded as they brought up the rear as the last to get on the train.
Soarin stared down at the goggles as he walked into the private car and sat down beside Storm. Storm looked to Soarin and carefully eyed the goggles in Soarin’s hoof.
“So…” Storm began while glancing between Soarin’s pondering expression and the goggles. “What was all that about?” he asked.
Soarin said nothing at first. Contemplating the situation.
Shadowbolt?
Not a Shadowbolt?
The things he said to them…
His skill and ability to elude the number one flyers in the whole Wonderbolt organization…
What was going on? Was that what Storm asked him?
“I…” Soarin took a deep breath and sighed. “I really don’t know…”
---To Be Continued---
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Well that was quick, hope you didn't kill yourself.
the plot thickens.
Everytime I read that title...I just...I see this...always...
img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire2/a1ba6feb14290180944730e5f1bd4f121376275656_full.gif
MUH DRILL
Not surprised over the whole shadowbolt thing. LOL Or over the fact that he isn't quite a shadowbolt. You have a method to your madness.
Not being a huge fan of battle sceans I am like
But as far as they go your's are not bad. 
Probably why I prefer DS9 to TNG
Great chapter now can we get back to life?
Although Soarin using his magic during a battle... least trying to was
Whoa, sweet ^○^ though I have a teeny weeny hunch (and I know it's probably wrong
) but I get the feeling that "Shadowbolt" could be Silver....silly idea but it makes a wee bit of sense to me. I dunno, stupid hunch. But this was a fantastic chapter as always and I'm really really really looking forward to the next chapter! 
thank you for the wonderful chapter
Damn that's a heavy chapter
but still good
Well that killed my theory time to fine tune my tin foil hat
keep up the awesome work calm
I think I know who this pony is. The clue was nice, but lets see in the next chapters if that is true. Thanks for the update. I can't wait to read what's next.
5211483
I always keep mine right next to my computer on my desk in case of updates.
5211425 your not the only one
I feel like its sliver too but I feel silly about it
5211771 It's silly yes..but it makes sense in a way doesn't it?
5211118
only a little
5211157
And widens
5211269
It was the BEST unintentional decision i ever made in my life
I love Gurren Lagann... didnt even think about it when naming the story
5211324
5211327
Haha i try to make my battle scenes not boring and repetitive... i used to describe every single motion when i was younger, i look back now and realize how tedious it must've been to read
5211425
Thanks! and yeah, the next chapter will dispel that theory
And you're welcome!
5211829
5211427
Thanks!
AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEE
STEALTH SOARIN! HAHAHAHAHA
THE SHADOW WAS HER PAST FLUNK DATE
it's what i think
5211483
Haha oh yes
i'm the theory killer. sometimes i read what you guys think is going to happen and get all 
5211514
Thanks!
We shall see
5211693
I've been holding onto that pun since my Outline
521187 I honestly needed a couple minutes. Had me cutting up for a while.
5211824
5211771
I can totally see how you two are coming to that conclusion, but i doubt anyone is going to really figure it out, i've been ultra subbtle in my clue dropping
5211855
Nope, those aren't Descent's colors
5211864
LOL!
That's an interesting theory
I ship it.
5211876
er... how the hell did you reply to a comment from a different story?
5211885
Unless Fleetfoot kills him first
5211877
haha shouldn't have thought it would be so easy to figure it out. Always have a surprise for us huh Calm? 
can't wait for more 
5211895 .......I....I don't know...I swear clicked on your... what....
good chapter!
hmmmm... you cant tell me that im wrong,
but i think it's silver..
but at the same time i think it's not
it's so confusing
Great chapter! being a very long story, i suspected a Shawdowbolt will show up sooner or later
. anyways i went trick or treating today and i was upset because I DIDNT GET ANY SKITTLES!!!!!!!!!
(does anyone get it?)
5211950 img.pandawhale.com/post-13882-Are-You-a-Wizard-meme-lJZu.jpeg
Calm, you're gonna pay if Air Mach dies.
A SHADOWBOLT :O
I think it was rapid...
GAH I CAN'T WAIT !
That line... just... so.. fami-
THAT LINE IS FROM SILVER!!
COULD IT BE!??!
Nah...
Yeh...
Nah...
YEH...
NAH
I dont realleh know. Though i hope its just silver.
Umm... Had a feeling it was Shadowbolt related.... But who the hell is it... Can't be Rapid Fire, wrong colours... So who... A renegade Shadowbolt who went his own way, but wears part of the uniform as a tribute to the old organisation? But he had something to do with the wonder lots before... Maybe another ex-wonder bolt who was kicked out... Who knows???
Great chapter though... Exciting through and through
, and ready to continue.
“Soarin!" Spitfire
Well... that doesn't really rule out Storm's father. I mean, what do we know about him? He's always sending money to Storm, no shortage of that, and his mother doesn't want him around. Could him being a Shadowbolt be a reason for that? After all, Storm wouldn't know, would he?
noo please don't tell me it silver
, I like silver 
5211863 no problem, can't wait for the next one
Ohmygosh, ITS SO INTERESTING!!
5211824 I felt like it was Silver too.
5211881
i was high on candy yesterday and now i'm eating kit kats for breakfast
5212044
OH well i get
5211836
Yeah, Battle scenes are sometimes necessary. My first one read. "I lived, My sister lived, The cat lived, and the snake didn't" And that was the whole of the scene. I am stuck now at the actual war where the princess has to get back her kingdom from the evil king. And I have been stuck there for two years now. LOL